The Horus Heresy
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2022 2:40 pm
So, GW have announced that the Horus Heresy is officially getting a second edition, along with support from the main business, rather than being primarily a Forge World effort. So, as a big HH fan, I guess it's up to me to make the 'Let's Be Heretics' post and promote the game.
So what is the Horus Heresy?
The Horus Heresy is the big civil war that took place 10,000 years prior to the current Warhammer 40,000 setting. It's the reason the Imperium is a xenophobic, totalitarian dystopia, rather than the xenophobic, totalitarian utopia the Emperor envisaged. Seriously, there is a massive set of novels about it and it features in all the lore sections of all the 40K core rules. Long story short, the Emperor created 20 Primarchs to lead 20 Legions of Space Marines (2 got lost along the way though). Horus was his favourite Primarch, so the Emperor named him Warmaster and gave him control of the entire Great Crusade while he went back to Terra to work on the next stage of his plan. Unfortunately Chaos got involved and Horus joined the dark side. Half of the Imperium sided with him and a massive, galaxy-wide war was fought.
What is the Horus Heresy game?
Originally made as a variant of 40K back during 5th ed, Warhammer 30K wound up sticking with something close to 7th edition when 40K crossed the rubicon into 8th. The new edition looks to still be part of the 3rd through 7th ed family of 40K rules, though with a few ideas drawn from 8th. It still uses templates and vehicle facings matter. Unlike 9th, there are no stratagems or command points (that we know about). Instead you get Reactions. During each of your opponent's phases (Move, Shoot, Assault), one of your units can react to something they do, such as firing overwatch or counter-attacking. A lot of the playtest rules have been leaked online, but until we get to see everything in its entirety, it's impossible to say exactly how it will play, but it will be different from 8th/9th.
Wasn't 7th ed. an absolute sh!tshow of a ruleset?
Yes, it was. HH avoided most of the issues of 7th by having its own take on the rules called Age of Darkness. Having less armies to cater for also helped keep things manageable, plus HH never had the easily abusable detachment rules. It still had some issues, but it was better than the core 7th rules.
So it's all marines all the time?
Yes!
...Just kidding, though marines obviously play a very large role in the game. All of the legions start with access to the same army list, but also have a couple of unique specialist units and named characters. Each legion also has its own army wide rules and wargear. So generally speaking, each legion is a little different despite being built from the same (admittedly massive) range of units.
If marines aren't your speed, there are other options though.
The Mechanicum sports servitor armies packed with lethal and bizarre weapons. They have two sublists allowing you to focus more on cybernetic warriors or big siege guns if that is your thing.
Imperial Knights can be added to most lists, but you can field a force of pure Knights if you want.
The Solar Auxilia are an elite army of baseline humans armed with the best the Imperium has to offer.
In contrast the Cults and Militia list covers less elite human troops. The list had a toolbox approach, letting you pick and mix special rules. Want a horde of beserk mutants, no problem. A force of combat drug using survivors from the dark age of technology, easy.
The loyalists can build a force from the Talons of the Emperor, Custodes and Sisters of Silence basically. They both have access to a wider variety of toys than their 40K counterparts.
Finally, the traitors can use the Daemons of the Ruinstorm list. In 30K, daemons are a new and poorly understood force. To represent this the list is another toolbox set. You buy lesser - greater daemons and slap special rules on them. It's far more flexible than the Daemon Codex.
Some of these armies have dedicated FW ranges, some can use parts of the 40K range. The Cults and Daemons lists don't have any official models, you can use what you like. When 2nd ed. drops, the rumour is that there will be index books for Loyalists Marines, Traitor Marines, and "Other" armies. GW have yet to confirm if the third book will include all of the armies above.
What about Xenos?
There are no official rules for using Xenos in the HH, and GW haven't said that there will be. In 1st ed, you could technically field a 7th ed. Xeno army and do okay, but the designers always said that that wasn't something they considered when writing rules. In universe, Orks, Eldar and Dark Eldar were all around, so hopefully 2nd ed brings a way to use them.
Is HH expensive?
Absolutely, this is GW we're discussing. The FW only armies like Mechanicum are ridiculously expensive. Surprisingly, the Solar Auxilia infantry can work out to be fairly reasonable, but their vehicles cost an arm and a leg. There are ways of easing the costs, but resin models cost a lot, especially with the FW Pound to Yen exchange rates. Some armies can be kitbashed with standard GW kits, some can't.
Can I use my 40K army?
Um...As mentioned above, Xenos aren't included (yet), armies like Tau, Crons and Nids just aren't around at that point anyway.
Some armies can cross over easily. Imperial Knights and Daemons are the easiest. Depending on weapon loadouts, Talons of the Emperor can work too. IG can drop into the Cults and Militia list fairly easily, or the Solar Auxilia if you have the right models.
But marines are where things get tricky.
On the one hand, they are your minis, do what you want with them.
On the other, 30K has very different aesthetics to 40K, especially for the Legions Astartes. Primaris simply do not exist in the setting. Neither do Razorbacks and a couple of other marine vehicles. Most importantly, power armour is different. Mk.VII, the standard for 40K marines isn't suitable, only becoming available to armies at the very, very end of the heresy. Bizarrely, the old Chaos models were great for HH but the new ones don't fit at all. (I have been using some Mk.VII arms when kitbashing as they are less noticeable than, say helmets or shoulder pads, and it's the only way to get enough chainswords/pistols without buying FW minis).
Legion army composition is different too. Tactical Squads ONLY have bolters and number between 10 and 20 models. Support squads ALL have the same weapon and number between 5 and 10 models, so that is 5 models with flamers or 5 with meltas, no mixing.
Finally, while there is some variation in legion colours, there aren't any other chapters, so no Crimson Fists or Red Scorpions for example.
Looking at things the other way, some 30K marine forces can port over to 40K fairly easily, though their weapon choices may not be as flexible or as varied.
Why play HH over 40K?
If you love 40K 9th ed., there really isn't a great reason to ditch it for HH 2nd ed. If you're looking for a change, maybe HH could be good. The aesthetics are different as I said, there is a lot of great background for the setting, and there are a load of cool things to play with that 40K doesn't have or limits your access to.
Can I field a Primarch?
Yes! They are very expensive and only available in games at higher points levels, but they tend to be awesome. Guilliman and Alpharius give you more strategic options. Konrad and Corax give you hard hitting assaults from out of the blue, Angron blends through infantry, Magnus does all sorts of psychic stuff. Lorgar ruins the galaxy for everyone. That kind if thing.
I'd like to try it, but...
I have two smallish armies ready to go (Ultramarines and Word Bearers), plus I have several other legions at various stages of painting underway, so as soon as the rules drop, I'll be able to run demos.
So what is the Horus Heresy?
The Horus Heresy is the big civil war that took place 10,000 years prior to the current Warhammer 40,000 setting. It's the reason the Imperium is a xenophobic, totalitarian dystopia, rather than the xenophobic, totalitarian utopia the Emperor envisaged. Seriously, there is a massive set of novels about it and it features in all the lore sections of all the 40K core rules. Long story short, the Emperor created 20 Primarchs to lead 20 Legions of Space Marines (2 got lost along the way though). Horus was his favourite Primarch, so the Emperor named him Warmaster and gave him control of the entire Great Crusade while he went back to Terra to work on the next stage of his plan. Unfortunately Chaos got involved and Horus joined the dark side. Half of the Imperium sided with him and a massive, galaxy-wide war was fought.
What is the Horus Heresy game?
Originally made as a variant of 40K back during 5th ed, Warhammer 30K wound up sticking with something close to 7th edition when 40K crossed the rubicon into 8th. The new edition looks to still be part of the 3rd through 7th ed family of 40K rules, though with a few ideas drawn from 8th. It still uses templates and vehicle facings matter. Unlike 9th, there are no stratagems or command points (that we know about). Instead you get Reactions. During each of your opponent's phases (Move, Shoot, Assault), one of your units can react to something they do, such as firing overwatch or counter-attacking. A lot of the playtest rules have been leaked online, but until we get to see everything in its entirety, it's impossible to say exactly how it will play, but it will be different from 8th/9th.
Wasn't 7th ed. an absolute sh!tshow of a ruleset?
Yes, it was. HH avoided most of the issues of 7th by having its own take on the rules called Age of Darkness. Having less armies to cater for also helped keep things manageable, plus HH never had the easily abusable detachment rules. It still had some issues, but it was better than the core 7th rules.
So it's all marines all the time?
Yes!
...Just kidding, though marines obviously play a very large role in the game. All of the legions start with access to the same army list, but also have a couple of unique specialist units and named characters. Each legion also has its own army wide rules and wargear. So generally speaking, each legion is a little different despite being built from the same (admittedly massive) range of units.
If marines aren't your speed, there are other options though.
The Mechanicum sports servitor armies packed with lethal and bizarre weapons. They have two sublists allowing you to focus more on cybernetic warriors or big siege guns if that is your thing.
Imperial Knights can be added to most lists, but you can field a force of pure Knights if you want.
The Solar Auxilia are an elite army of baseline humans armed with the best the Imperium has to offer.
In contrast the Cults and Militia list covers less elite human troops. The list had a toolbox approach, letting you pick and mix special rules. Want a horde of beserk mutants, no problem. A force of combat drug using survivors from the dark age of technology, easy.
The loyalists can build a force from the Talons of the Emperor, Custodes and Sisters of Silence basically. They both have access to a wider variety of toys than their 40K counterparts.
Finally, the traitors can use the Daemons of the Ruinstorm list. In 30K, daemons are a new and poorly understood force. To represent this the list is another toolbox set. You buy lesser - greater daemons and slap special rules on them. It's far more flexible than the Daemon Codex.
Some of these armies have dedicated FW ranges, some can use parts of the 40K range. The Cults and Daemons lists don't have any official models, you can use what you like. When 2nd ed. drops, the rumour is that there will be index books for Loyalists Marines, Traitor Marines, and "Other" armies. GW have yet to confirm if the third book will include all of the armies above.
What about Xenos?
There are no official rules for using Xenos in the HH, and GW haven't said that there will be. In 1st ed, you could technically field a 7th ed. Xeno army and do okay, but the designers always said that that wasn't something they considered when writing rules. In universe, Orks, Eldar and Dark Eldar were all around, so hopefully 2nd ed brings a way to use them.
Is HH expensive?
Absolutely, this is GW we're discussing. The FW only armies like Mechanicum are ridiculously expensive. Surprisingly, the Solar Auxilia infantry can work out to be fairly reasonable, but their vehicles cost an arm and a leg. There are ways of easing the costs, but resin models cost a lot, especially with the FW Pound to Yen exchange rates. Some armies can be kitbashed with standard GW kits, some can't.
Can I use my 40K army?
Um...As mentioned above, Xenos aren't included (yet), armies like Tau, Crons and Nids just aren't around at that point anyway.
Some armies can cross over easily. Imperial Knights and Daemons are the easiest. Depending on weapon loadouts, Talons of the Emperor can work too. IG can drop into the Cults and Militia list fairly easily, or the Solar Auxilia if you have the right models.
But marines are where things get tricky.
On the one hand, they are your minis, do what you want with them.
On the other, 30K has very different aesthetics to 40K, especially for the Legions Astartes. Primaris simply do not exist in the setting. Neither do Razorbacks and a couple of other marine vehicles. Most importantly, power armour is different. Mk.VII, the standard for 40K marines isn't suitable, only becoming available to armies at the very, very end of the heresy. Bizarrely, the old Chaos models were great for HH but the new ones don't fit at all. (I have been using some Mk.VII arms when kitbashing as they are less noticeable than, say helmets or shoulder pads, and it's the only way to get enough chainswords/pistols without buying FW minis).
Legion army composition is different too. Tactical Squads ONLY have bolters and number between 10 and 20 models. Support squads ALL have the same weapon and number between 5 and 10 models, so that is 5 models with flamers or 5 with meltas, no mixing.
Finally, while there is some variation in legion colours, there aren't any other chapters, so no Crimson Fists or Red Scorpions for example.
Looking at things the other way, some 30K marine forces can port over to 40K fairly easily, though their weapon choices may not be as flexible or as varied.
Why play HH over 40K?
If you love 40K 9th ed., there really isn't a great reason to ditch it for HH 2nd ed. If you're looking for a change, maybe HH could be good. The aesthetics are different as I said, there is a lot of great background for the setting, and there are a load of cool things to play with that 40K doesn't have or limits your access to.
Can I field a Primarch?
Yes! They are very expensive and only available in games at higher points levels, but they tend to be awesome. Guilliman and Alpharius give you more strategic options. Konrad and Corax give you hard hitting assaults from out of the blue, Angron blends through infantry, Magnus does all sorts of psychic stuff. Lorgar ruins the galaxy for everyone. That kind if thing.
I'd like to try it, but...
I have two smallish armies ready to go (Ultramarines and Word Bearers), plus I have several other legions at various stages of painting underway, so as soon as the rules drop, I'll be able to run demos.