Hobby Projects in 30k for the months ahead

I've been pondering about my 30k / Horus Heresy projects recently from a hobby point of view. As my readers will know, I've been involved in the game since Rogue Trader, and have absolutely loved the Horus Heresy game in particular. Indeed, 30k is the reason that I'm still into the hobby - no doubt about that at this stage. So, I've been pondering projects and armies that I've been collecting for a while and thinking about what to plan next. The following is a stream of thought about those considerations and a vague road map for the time ahead on the hobby front!

I've decided to order this in terms of army by army. I will freely admit that some factions appeal to me a lot more than others (that, and the games I tend to play are typically lower points levels to ensure a reasonable completion time scale, which in turn means that I can introduce an allied detachment very easily). Heretical members of otherwise loyalist factions. The inverse. Those who have no place. And those whose models are simply cool! In doing all of this, I've been thinking along the lines of "main armies" versus those that I simply want a small detachment of, to those that I want a single model from.

I've put stars next to each faction to arrange them in priority for myself. I've also used square brackets to denote completeness / not going to expand further at this point in time.

Dark Angels. I’ve always been a fan, I will freely confess. This is, of course, known to my hard core long time readers. But in the Horus Heresy, this legion is not a priority for me and I don’t own any appropriate miniatures for it. That’s not to say that I’d never collect them, or a small force. They’re just not top of the list. Love the Primarch model though. Hence I have a low priority (one star out of five) for them. ⭐️

Emperor’s Children. I have secretly coveted collecting a small detachment for a long while. So much so, that this will be my next pet project! Surprise! Top priority! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Iron Warriors. One of my main army collections. Not as extensive as my Alpha Legion by any means, but loving them all the same. Very happy with this legion! Not looking to expand at the moment, but will consider it. I am content with the army as it stands right now, but I do need to paint up what I have assembled. [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️]

White Scars. I don’t own any and I have no plans to own any either. Not a priority, but not ruling them out in the future either. I also find white a tough colour to paint. Low to zero priority overall.⭐️

Space Wolves. I like the fluff and the miniatures, but once again I don’t own any and have no plans for even an allied detachment. Maybe one day a small detachment to "look after" the loyalty of my Alpha Legion? Zero priority. ⭐️

Imperial Fists. They just don’t speak to me. Sorry folks! Don't hate me! Zero priority. ⭐️

Night Lords. I’m not a big fan. I’m not opposed either. Just can’t see me collecting them right now. Low priority. ⭐️⭐️

Blood Angels. I like their vibe. I like how they play. But they are a low priority for me. ⭐️⭐️

Iron Hands. I own small numbers of these as part of my shattered legions collection. There’s a possibility to expand, but I need to complete the ones I have so it is only a medium priority to expand, but a relatively high priority to complete the ones I have. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

World Eaters. The tragedy of this legion speaks to me and I’d very much like to explore the range. Medium-high priority. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ultramarines. Far too vanilla for me due to 40k, but I do like the rules. Zero priority. ⭐️

Death Guard. I collected this legion in 40k as a main army. But I haven’t bothered with them in 30k. Maybe one day. Medium to low priority. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thousand Sons. Now here is an unusual legion that I’d like to know better and would be a good painting challenge. Seriously tempting for an allied detachment somehow. I'd love to blend 40k bits with 30k body parts to create a force on the edge of corruption. Medium-high priority. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sons of Horus. Lots of traitor players (rightly) love them. But for me I’ve seen them all on the battlefield and internet already. Except maybe for having Horus himself, its a zero priority for me. ⭐️

Word Bearers. I have a bit of a love-hate thing for them. I have a good detachment of Gal Vorbak going that I’d like to round out with Tal one day. High priority for Tal alone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Salamanders. I have a detachment as part of my shattered legions. I’m complete with them for now. [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️]

Raven Guard. Same as the Salamanders. Love the shattered legion detachment I own. I also have an unpainted Corax yet to complete. [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️]

Alpha Legion. My main army that I’ve never stopped expanding since first edition. Always a priority, but I’m largely done unless there’s a cool new release or I see an opportunity for something interesting or a conversion.  [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️]

Mechanicum. I’ve a small detachment of robots but they’re mainly unpainted. Medium Priority. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Knights. Who doesn’t love knights?! High priority to complete at least the Lancer and a couple of armigers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Titans. No more at the present time, but love the ones I own. One day I’d like to at least consider buying more… i.e., a Warlord! Just not right now. Some lame excuse about saving up. ⭐️⭐️

Daemons. One of my main 40k armies. They’ve translated well to 30k, but I don’t feel the need to expand here or do anything with them other than summoning some occasionally?!. [⭐️]

Imperial Army. Not my thing. Unless serving the Alpha Legion? Zero priority. ⭐️

Custodes. I have a few. I might get a few more. But honestly not my play style or favoured paint scheme either. Low priority. ⭐️⭐️

Sisters. I’d actually like to have them! I have zero. So I’m not starting on them. Tough! Unless I win the lottery and retire early. ⭐️

Assassins and Agents. Would seriously consider this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Black Shields. So very tempting. But not until I see the new rules. Priority pending, but probably high!

So in summary, it is a tiny detachment of Emperor's Children next for me, along with finishing the painting of some miniatures that I already have built in the collection. Maybe Argel Tal at some point. And I want that Lancer assembled soon as well. Time is the enemy as per usual!

Horus Heresy New Edition Announcement

I am beyond thrilled to see the formal announcement and reveal of the new edition of the Horus Heresy. The theatrical trailer has just blown me away. I've watched it so many times that other members of the household are concerned for my on-going sanity. 

And then there's the miniatures. 

Superb levels of detail abound in the new "Beakie" power armour. Even putting to one side the sheer gorgeous sculpt, the dynamism is impressive and the little touched such as the trigger discipline is a pleasure to see. 

I'm very excited to see what the future holds for the Horus Heresy line! 

New Horus Heresy Boxed Set?

Over this weekend, there have been rumours flying around about a new boxed set for the Horus Heresy game. Usually these rumour crop up every couple of months with people claiming to have some kind of inside knowledge or scoop, which, although they might be accurate, always strike me as assertions of some kind. This time it is much better. There are actual photographs of the miniatures being used in play, likely from the box itself. I won't link to them or display them here as I'm not the copyright holder.

However, they look great!

Ranging from what appears to be new Mark 6 armour (yes please: love some new Alpha Legion alpha mark 6 marines please!), a new contemptor (already got several, but surely one more won't hurt, right?), a plastic spartan (hell yes!), coupled with cataphractii (could be good if they're new sculpts?) and characters maybe (not sure at all), this set appears very legitimate and exciting.

For a long time, I have felt that Horus Heresy once again needs to be brought into line with the existing edition of 40k. Without that connection, there is less impetus for gamers to play each other from 30k to 40k (certainly I've enjoyed those battles very much indeed!) and I'm optimistic that the new release might be done alongside a "version 2" of Horus Heresy to update all of the rules. 

In terms of the Black Books, we have been hearing for a while that there might not be any more. Certainly with all of the legions being published, I only see room for Xenos armies (Orks, Eldar, etc.) for crusade purposes, and perhaps support for the Siege of Terra (come on, give the Emperor some rules?). Or maybe something about the scouring? (Although Book 9 does a bit of that I guess). So the release of a new version is a good way to re-invigorate the Horus Heresy scene to my mind. Despite repeated rumours of the death of the sub-game, I have always felt Horus Heresy is the premium version of the game for the veterans and collectors that is (arguably) better than 40k in a number of ways. Therefore I'm hopeful that this represents a good way forward to forge new links between 30k and 40k and simultaneously promote both. 

Equally, I've ever been the raging optimist!

Horus Heresy Book 9: Crusade. Some Initial Impressions

I have my copy of Horus Heresy Book 9: Crusade safely delivered! Happy Days!

In the weeks ahead, I will be undertaking the regular reviews of the units and rules contained inside this book as I have done so for the past 8 books. This will add to the growing, and possibly the most complete and comprehensive set of reviews available on the blogosphere for this series. Stay tuned for that.

My initial impressions of the book are positive. To be clear, Alan Bligh didn't write this, and whilst I'm drawn to make comparisons to the ones that he did scribe, this one stands up better than some others. The writing is excellent.

The Night Lords are, of course, repeated from earlier entries in this series, but have additions, much in the same way that the Word Bearers were added to when they faced off against the Ultramarines earlier in the series. But this book adds to their tales, not only in terms of units, but also background. 

The stars of the show are the Dark Angels, naturally. I haven't yet wrapped my mind around their rules, but I will do so soon -- they look suitably complex and complete from my early skim reads. The background contains some tasty treats such as the Rangdan Xenocides, but some readers will find the detail that is there paltry and incomplete though. I do like the sound of their actions in the early Thramas crusade though -- they pop back in to play at the Triplex, and unleash dread Silica Anima. Gulp.

I'd be happy to address any early questions if folks have any -- jot a comment or send me a message. I won't be reproducing the book or violating copyright though. Caveat Emptor. 

Melta Bombs in Horus Heresy

Following on from the previous digest of thoughts relating to the new edition of the rules set for Horus Heresy, I wanted to briefly touch on one of the most outstanding corrections to the rules we have seen. Namely: Melta Bombs.

To explain the context for this one: Melta bombs have long been an upgrade item that a squad can take to battle. More specifically, it is an upgrade that certain units can take one of for every single member of the squad. Legion outrider squads spring to mind, amongst others.

Many players (including myself, I must admit) were very used to playing that every single model armed with a melta bomb could try to land it on their enemy in close combat (the fight phase) if they chose to.

The Frequently Asked Questions for 7th edition put an end to this. Those clarifications mandated that only one grenade could be used per phase of a turn per squad. This outraged many people in the community who felt that this was the wrong call. In turn, there were others who pointed to the fact that this was simply just "rules as written" and was therefore simply reinforcing how grenades should have been played all along.

With the introduction of the modified 7th edition rules set for Horus Heresy, this situation has been reversed. Now every model armed with a melta bomb appears as if they will be able to try to land their bomb on top of a target. Of course, this will make the players happy who spend a (not inconsiderable) number of points on upgrading their units to take melta bombs on every single model.  Why would the army lists allow this, after all, if only one model were to take an attack with a melta bomb in a single given phase.

I am personally very glad to see the return to the rules as they were being played before the FAQ was released for 7th edition. It all makes a bit more sense this way to my mind!

Mind Howl

Bit of a rough week just gone (thanks to those of you who messaged me). Hopefully things should improve now and we'll get back to our more usual roll out of posts. 

Today, I wanted touch on the forth-coming release of the new Horus Heresy rules set. There appears, on the surface, to be a number of important, significant, and (dare I say it?): longed for changed in the rules that are being proposed.

One of the big ones is the total elimination of Invisibility as a psychic power. Invisibility caused all sorts of shenanigans in the 7th edition of both Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000. So much so, that independent tournaments invariably had their own house rules on the power to prevent too much abuse.

Its termination with extreme prejudice is a welcome one from me. In its place, we have a new power entitled "Mind Howl". The image below was taken from the Warhammer Community website, and I use it here under "fair use" clauses (happy to take it down if desired). 

On the surface, Mind Howl is a reasonable replacement power for invisibility. It provides the caster with a way of reducing the effectiveness of a target unit both in terms of the WS and the BS of the victim. At Warp Charge 2, it has a steep price (but we do not yet know how the psychic phase will operate under the new rules system ... I'm hoping for something more streamlined myself, but time will tell), and has to be within a range of 12 inches. This range won't be an issue for a melee orientated psyker to take on. However, the temptation will be to attempt to nullify opponents best ranged weapons as well. 

In practice, this means that packers that have rules such as infiltration and teleportation may well be able to shut down some of the most powerful incoming fire power from opponents. 

You can probably guess my thoughts here. With the Alpha Legion, one of these infiltrating strategically near the backlines could do amazing damage to the ranged potential of any enemy units. Even certain Thousand Sons builds can pull off this kind of treachery. Hence, even though Invisibility was a game defining psychic power, the Mind Howl replacement power can potentially be just as frightful in its own right. I can certainly see me taking an Alpha Legion librarian just to exploit this power alone and shut down the ranged weapons of heavy support squads to snap shot levels. Hydra Dominatus brothers!

7.1 Edition

Watching the Twitch Channel for Warhammer in the week, there were plenty of previews coming out of Forge World. These not only included the miniatures (Astraeus, Red Scorpion chapter dreadnought, space wolves terminators, doors for rhinos, etc.), but also a quick glance through the new rulebook for the Horus Heresy era.

Described as Version 7.1 of the rulebook, on screen it appeared as a large tome held together by a pair of large bulldog clips. In other words -- a high level proof. All the pages were printed and ready. Everything was there. Just the binding missing.

The guys explained that the rule book has been sent to the printers and they are estimating something like one month or so before the book is ready.

I'm still pleased that the Horus Heresy will be adopting a modified 7th edition, but sad that it is not wholly compatible with 8th edition (meaning one set of rules for 30k, one for 40k). I guess I will withhold judgement until I can actually get my hands on the new rulebook to see what has changed. Exciting times ahead!

Horus Heresy Rules

I'm a bit late to the proverbial party on this one. But on the Warhammer community website, it has been announced that the Horus Heresy will be getting their own rules set. This is not new, of course, as we have known about it for a while.

What strikes me is the replies on the Games Workshop Facebook group. When asked whether the psychic phase was going to be revised or not, there were a lot of non committal answers given. Why would this be so? Have Forge World or GW not agreed upon the rules yet? Are things in such a state of flux that straight forward questions like this cannot be answered? Or perhaps are we saving ourselves up for spoilers that will be revealed later.

From what was stated though, it is clear that the Horus Heresy rules are going to be an updated version of 7th with all of the needless stuff eliminated from the set. So entries like "And They Shall Know No Fear" will likely be removed from this rule book and other rules (perhaps a full explainer of "Primarch" rules) will be inserted?

In all of this, I'm somewhat torn. I do like the effort they have made to keep things in 7th at some level. But at another level, its really disheartening that the community has been split like this. I'd still like to play against Eldar using whatever set of rules we can. But should that be 7th or 8th edition? I no longer know. No one does. Until there is a 30k Eldar book released, I guess we will do what we can. Which will probably mean I write a space marine army list for my Alpha Legion. It will lack all the character that I have grown accustomed to though. Equally, this is a fate shared by 40k armies like the Raven Guard (or basically anything that isn't vanilla marines). Hopefully the newer 40k codex releases will give some flavour back to these armies and I can write some kind of army list for 8th that would be an Alpha Legion analogue (perhaps based on the Raven Guard -- hence my mentioning them in particular).

Catching Fire: Prospero Burns

As if I wasn't excited enough by the video made by Warhammer TV of Magnus the Red, they've stepped it up with a video of Prospero Burns -- the new board game extension to the Horus Heresy. Indeed, it seems that whenever there is a leak (or the very likely potential for a leak), the Warhammer TV team are already a step ahead with a recorded video to make us, the consumers, exceedingly happy.

Seeing the Daemon Prince version of Magnus is one thing. Having hints about sisters of battle in plastic and thousand sons in plastic is another. But now. Now. Now we have Prospero burns: plastic tartaros terminators, Ahriman, Sisters of Silence, Custodes. Oh, and not to be forgotten: Thousand Sons and Space Wolves (with what looks like to be new water based decals.

I decided to grab a few screen shots of the Warhammer TV video. Just because. I've applied a few filters to make them a bit brighter and sharper, but otherwise, they're the same as per the video.

I don't know where to start. The sisters. The Legio Custodes. The plastics. The decals. And are those volkites on the terminators? Sorry genestealers, this takes precedent! :)

I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor

"I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor."

And it happened a decade ago, as evidenced in the image.

If this makes no sense, then I'll elaborate. This sentence is the first one from "Horus Rising", the first publication in the Horus Heresy series of publications from the Black Library. This year marks its 10th anniversary. The entirety of the Horus Heresy from Isstvan III through to the Siege of Terra takes roughly the same amount of time in the cannon. Hence the reason for showing this photo is a demonstration that it has now been ten years since we started and we're nowhere near the Siege of Terra. 

I for one sincerely hope that it is not another decade before Black Library advances the plot sufficiently so that we can see the traitor fleet arrive at Terra for the final confrontation. Please don't drag it out - the "filler" novels can always be written later.

Warhammer World: Betrayal at Calth

In the special exhibit room of Warhammer World is currently dedicated to the Horus Heresy. One of the main exhibits and diorama's is that of Calth. This diorama in particular featured heavily in the art work for the 5th Horus Heresy rulebook: Tempest. It contains iconic images of the broken railway train, as well as dockland cranes being the backdrop as a deadly confrontation plays out between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers Legions.

This diorama was smashing to see in real life, and my photographs probably don't quite do it enough justice. Equally, I think a generous smattering of dry ice and post-photography touch up was applied for the photos that appear in Tempest, so they're never going to be totally identical! Hope you like them!

Warhammer World: Horus vs Emperor

At the end game of the Horus Heresy, Horus Lupercal lowered the shields to his flagship and allowed the Emperor, his immediate body guards, Rogal Dorn and Sanguinius teleport aboard. Sanguinius found Horus first. Horus offered him a seat at the right hand of the gods. He refused. And Horus slew him. The Emperor found Horus next, towering over the broken body of Sanguinius. And the rest is known.

This scene is a very, very old one that I recall from the earliest days in 40k. It features models of both Horus and the Emperor (plus poor Sanguinius as well) facing off against each other on board the transformed and warped control deck of Vengeful Spirit. Although its age is really showing and obvious to the trained eye, the diorama is one that is both iconic and unique. 

Warhammer World: Unpublished Legions Descriptions

EDIT: I can't help but notice that many people are posting my images WITHOUT CREDIT elsewhere. 

Do the right thing, and cite MY WORK through saying where the images are from and by linking directly back to WARPSTONE FLUX.  
EDIT ENDS.

***

As some of my readers may already be aware, I recently visited Warhammer World in Nottingham, UK.

Deep within Warhammer World, we discovered the writing was literally on the wall. At least in terms of descriptions for the (as yet) unpublished legion: Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Thousand Sons, White Scars and the Blood Angels. These images were taken from information panels within exhibition room 5 where from Nov 14th 2015 to Feb 10th 2016, a special exhibit on the Horus Heresy is located.

Hope you like reading them! (for reference, all the other legions had similar images featuring text that has already appeared in Betrayal, Massacre, Extermination, etc.).

Betrayal at Calth: Miniature Bits

In the image below are the miniatures bits for a squad of ten space marines in Mark IV armour taken from the Betrayal at Calth board game. I hope this (cut sprue) image will be of use to people looking for bits of their own.

Some of the things that stand out to me are (in no particular order):

The multi-part missile launcher and heavy bolter;

Two bare-heads (one clean shaven which will look good for Alpha Legion players; the other with an ocular implant; others with studs);

Front torso for a commander;

Different legs many of which with "Heresy" era studs;

Four shoulder pads with Heresy era studs on;

A combi-weapon;

and all important specialist guns! (pity I need several more of these for a support squad really!).

Enjoy!

Betrayal at Calth Display

A big picture today featuring a display of the new board game, Betrayal at Calth, as snapped in a Games Workshop store.

Although I haven't purchased the game, I'm going to get at least some of the tactical marines from the boxed set to mix in with my other Alpha Legion forces that are growing larger...

Betrayal at Calth - thoughts

By now, there are lots of rumours being confirmed about the impending release of the Horus Heresy: Battle of Calth board game. No doubt it'll be flying off the shelves like its Christmas or something when its released. I'm not in the business of posting pictures from other websites that probably violate copyright or embargo, so you can go and look these up for yourselves if you've somehow not seen them yet.

When I originally learnt of the game and the miniatures that it contained, I was truly excited! The sheer value of the miniatures contained inside the box in relation to what it would cost to purchase the Forge World equivalents in resin made this such a great deal - and a no brainer almost.

But now, I'm not so sure.

The lack of possibility for the contemptor dreadnought is a big issue for me personally. As you can see from some of my efforts with Forge World dreadnoughts, I really do like being able to pose the contemptors in a decent manner with running (and other) suggestive poses.

The image above is one of my Alpha Legion dreadnoughts that I'm yet to paint up. But I won't be able to get something like this out of the Battle of Calth. Sadly.

But what I would be able to get is a whole bucket load of Mark IV space marine armour as well as plastic Cataphractii terminators. I can't shake the feeling that these plastic miniatures will be released at a later date thought in a separate package. Equally, the Dark Angels and Chaos Marines from the last 40k starter set has never come along in a different set, so what would I know.

In terms of the board game itself, it clearly is in some kind of tile based vein. Perhaps something like what the extension such as Genestealer did for Space Hulk. The pieces look like they move across the board, fighting each other for territory, coupled with some kind of game specific damage and weapon ability mechanic. Obviously its Ultramarines and Word Bearers, but the pieces are all generic and need not be painted in those colours. 

Yet, although I was originally very excited to hear about the game and GW's foray in to the Horus Heresy with plastics, I'm still not certain if I'll purchase this game or not. I just can't make my mind up about its worth, whether I'll play the game, and / or whether the plastics will becomes available later and if they're exactly what I'm after - at least in comparison to FW's resin pieces. Therefore, I'm adopting a wait and see approach to this whole thing. 

Potential Plot Flaw in Fulgrim?

I was re-reading Black Library' Fulgrim by McNeill recently. I found a little inconsistency, well major plot flaw to be honest, therein on my re-reading.

In the encounter between Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim, the primarch of the Emperor's Children tells Ferrus that "Lorgar and Angron are ready to strike, and Mortarion will soon be with us."

Later on, on the sands of Istvaan V no less, Ferrus Manus is well-pleased to see his brothers, Lorgar included make landfall to apparently help the loyalist cause.

So, what could be the cause of this?

Clearly it could just be an overlooked facet.

Or, alternatively, perhaps Ferrus just thought Fulgrim was flat-out lying. Indeed, later on, Dorn's orders simply state that the traitors are Horus, Fulgrim, Mortarion and Angron. Nothing about Lorgar. Hence he has no reason to yet doubt that Lorgar has turned traitor.

Anyway, I just caught this today, so thought I'd jot it down here!

Is 30k better than 40k?

Is 30k better than 40k? The title for this editorial is purposefully a little bit provocative! I wanted to examine a number of facets of both games and give my own view on the state of the games before I even try to address the question posed in the title.

As my regular readers will be all too aware, I have been analysing the units from the Horus Heresy 30k books in depth for a long time now - the summary page of the Horus Heresy 30k unit reviews can be found here. I will freely confess that I was actually one of those people who ordered Book I: Betrayal the day it become available for pre-order. I was very excited to see Forge World release this one and I'd been waiting with anticipation for it for a long time since seeing the first hints of its existence.

Appeal
Why was I drawn to it? Well, I guess its because it deals with THE part of the Warhammer timeline that has intrigued me the most for a long long time. In the distant future of 40k, we know that everything is at war with everything else. The story is not progressing and its all a bit grim-dark. In 30k, though, we see a time of optimism and expansion of the human empire through the Great Crusade. Humanity is unified (once conquered!) and its space marine legions sweep (or attempt to sweep) all xenos before them. This is, of course, broken by the betrayal of Horus and his allies, leading to inter-legionary warfare for (maybe?) the first time. (maybe, because it has been teasingly hinted that the Space Wolves were released against either Legio II or XI at some point in the past). The prospect of building an army that could take part in the Great Crusade, Isstvan, and the wider Heresy, plus ultimately still be playable in 40k strongly appealed to me. Plus, I get to read in a humongous amount of detail never presented before what happened during those dark days of the Heresy in 30k. Originally I wanted to build a Death Guard legion, but eventually settled on Alpha Legion (as I've done Death Guard plenty in 40k, so wanted something entirely new).

Rogue Trader Days
But what about 40k? I was originally drawn to that because it was a new game when I was young -- yes I'm that old that I remember playing Rogue Trader rules battles. Everything we needed to know for those battles was contained in that single volume - no messing around with multiple codexes and expansions as we might have to do in this day and age. More of my opinions on the current state of the game versus earlier iterations can be found in my editorial from yesterday where I tackled the issue of Proliferation in 7th Edition 40k. But beyond the game mechanics, the heady days of Rogue Trader really appealed as the book covered such a wide variety of topics ranging from armies and terrain, right through to technology and background material. There really was such a huge scope - more than one could ever desire really. And although some bits were ignored in later versions and other bits were expanded upon, the system of comparing S against T has largely remained in place alongside the WS and BS mechanics to inflict wounds. Some aspects have been streamlined, others have been made more complex and its all in a state of flux overall.

List Building
One of the aspects that I've not yet discussed though, is how games of 30k play out and how folks go about building army lists. They're similar, but different to 40k in a number of ways. To take a random example, in 30k, the stubborn special rule is at a premium compared to 40k. That's not to say that a 30k army cannot take on a 40k army - far from it! Indeed, the Forge World FAQ makes quite clear that we can totally do this. But its important to note that 30k is INTERNALLY balanced, rather than balanced against 40k. Things are just a little bit different in 30k, that's all.

So what appeals to me about 30k rules and armies? Well, having been in both games since the "beginning", I think that 30k displays a much stronger tendency toward balance than 40k has ever done. That's not to say there are not strong and powerful rules in 30k, there most certainly are. Take for example the Iron Hands Legion rules -- they reduce the incoming S of any ranged weapon by 1. That's truly incredible as it makes them the 30k analogue of Plague Marines in terms of survivability due to the mechanics of comparing S to T of the weapons and miniatures involved. But in 30k, its balanced up. The Iron Hands must always stand and fight (Ferrus clearly didn't think much of his marines going to ground) and they have rigid tactics that severely limits the kinds of army that this legion can field (in a fluffy manner as well, I'd argue). This is not to say 40k does not possess some kinds of balance, it most certainly does (lower I for plague marines, and a higher points cost than basic marines to say the least).

Yet, I've personally found it hard to "break" the 30k army building rules to construct a win-at-all-costs army. Sure, I can think of a few Word Bearers legion lists that might combine with daemons and Be'Lakor / Fateweaver for some scary combinations with the likes of the Gal Vorbak, but that's the best I can do in terms of really fielding a uber army that is going to try to win with a death-star style unit. And that relies on 40k units and army codexes. I'm sure there probably exists other scary combinations without primarchs present, and I'd love to hear about them (leave a comment if you have something to equal or better Word Bearers + Be'Lakor / Fateweaver army lists!). But in 40k, we have all come across screamer-stars online or in person (or fielded them ourselves), and necron flying deathstar armies before that, leaf blower before that, etc. I just can't find too many 30k issues like that though. And it is for these reasons that I'm doubly attracted to 30k.

Summary
So, is 30k better than 40k? No. Neither is better than the other. They're the same game fundamentally, its just the armies are different. Its still early days for 30k as well. Once we get a more expanded picture beyond the legions, beyond the Solar Auxilla, beyond the mechanicum, we may see some horrendous armies come along. But for now, I really like seeing and playing 30k due to the potential it exhibits. And its kind of new, whilst at the same time feeling familiar. I think it is what 40k could have been with more attention to the game, rather than to the hobby and collection side of things. To emphasise my point: this is just a preference. It categorically does not mean 30k is better than 40k or the other way around. They both have very strong merits!

Sarum Pattern Respiration Masks for Heresy Era Space Marines

Close reading and inspection of the Horus Heresy rule books reveals a number of hidden gems and "easter egg" style gifts to the gamer. The first one of these is the Anvilus Pattern Backpack that one of the Death Guard can be seen wearing in Betrayal. Today, I wanted to note another one from Betrayal:- the Sarum Pattern Respiration Mask, pictured below.

The story in Betrayal goes that the World Eaters managed to form an alliance of sort (such that the World Eaters are capable of) with the Sarum Forge World having been deployed there and seen serious action. As a "reward", they got supplied with a new pattern of respirator. The nice part about this particular helmet is its visual similarity to those included in the space marine boxed sets. Although clearly a much later pattern, the Mk VII Aquilia Armour is probably the one that is closest to the Sarum pattern. That said, there are some subtle differences. But at a distance and at first glance, both the Mk VII helmet and the Sarum one are almost the same. Therefore, the World Eaters players should feel free to use this helmet in their conversions. And probably Alpha Legion as well - because they're Alpha Legion! 

Anvilus pattern backpack

One of the hidden gems in Horus Heresy: Betrayal is the expansion of the background description of the standard (or what will become to be thought of as standard) chaos space marine backpack. The image depicts one of the Death Guard legion from Betrayal sporting Mark II armour combined with what is described as a prototype Anvilus backpack. The interesting thing here is that the backpack is said to possess enhanced stabilising thrusters (presumably the vents at the back which are now spaced apart somewhat - although could also be the fan), but at the cost of inferior radiation shielding. 

This strikes me as a bit odd. The thrusters are designed for void operations. But surely the last thing that you want in the hard void is decreased radiation shielding? Regardless, it adds to the fluff about stacked power plants requiring more cooling from the earlier chaos space marine fluff. The only thing I'm unclear on is whether "Anvilus" is a designation of a forge world? Perhaps its one that the traitors captured and used after the Heresy and hence the major one to supply this type of backpack to the traitor legions subsequently? Just some random thoughts!