A Multitude of Horus Heresy Starter Boxes sent to YouTube creators

[hobbyhubParticipant 4169xp 1]

Good grief, geedub sent out a lot of those Horus Heresy: Age Of Darkness starter box sets out to YouTube content creators…

Ash Barker , of Guerrilla Miniature Games, has 3 videos alone:

1. Rules review
2. Review of the other box content
3. A battle report..

They are really pushing hard on this, if we didn’t already know.

No indication of when it will be up for pre-order, but I would think that they can’t let publicity/hype like this go cold.

Could they even be planning something around UK Games Expo?

[kiranamida 5783xp 1]

One of CM Valrak’s sources (Alpharulius I think) has told him second half of June I believe which isn’t too far away now.

Would make sense for the hype train to start rolling if that’s the case.

[limburger 21550xp 1]

For such an expensive piece of kit they really need all the help they can get 😉

The contents of the box is weird though … only one vehicle, so if this is a two-player set then someone has to do without one.

I’d expect a more balanced army list, but then this isn’t really aimed at new players is it ?
Why the heck would anyone want to play 7th edition rules when we’re at 9th edition for 40k ?
Why does HH need its own set of rules ? A few codexes and a small supplement would have been enough …

Here’s yet another youtuber with the box :

And another youtuber with comments about HH … I think we may know him 😉

 

[hobbyhubParticipant 4169xp 0]

@limburger.having watched Ash’s videos, I can see a few reasons.

First, it isn’t straight 7ed, they have made a few tweaks.  The major one being a reaction system for the player whose turn it isn’t gets to use to keep them engaged in what is happening.

It’s an alternative from current 40k, which some look at as being bloated with rules, books and FAQs, erratum, stratagems, etc….  Each to their own I guess.

Even though GW are promoting it as a 2 player starter, you are right about the Spartan.  In Ash’s vid it was pretty unbillable for just infantry going up against it.  I don’t know that his opponents having a Dreadnaught on their side would have helped much, it is such a beast….

One of those new tanks that have been previewed would have helped a bit I think.

[torros 23802xp 1]

I’m  sure OPR will be along soon with army lists for them

[pagan8thParticipant 9574xp 0]

If tanks are so overpowered, doesn’t that mean the first player to lose their tank loses the game?

That sounds very boring.

[tankkommanderParticipant 6393xp 0]

Every box they send out for free just means the real suckers…er, I mean customers, have to pay more. Makes me less inclined to buy from those companies, and less inclined to watch shills on YT.

[limburger 21550xp 2]

@hobbyhub except ‘current’ edition started in 8th as a way to undo all the bloat previous versions had gathered … and it was for the first few weeks. Then they released the codexes and undid practically all of the work.

I’d also argue that ‘current’ edition could do with something to break up the I-go-U-go style that practically makes alpha striking such a powerful tactic. Expand 9th edition with a similar rule and you’re done.

In all the years GW has never ever shown that they care about ‘balance’ in the way that other companies do because it would wreck their sales model.

Heck … the simple fact that you don’t get any anti-vehicle weapons in that starter set (but you can buy one of 4 ‘optional’ boxes with weapons that would improve your chances) is enough ‘proof’ of how this set is clearly meant to get you to buy more stuff by default. A Classic GW sales model … and we already know there’s going to be more faction specific books to ‘expand’ the game.

//

@tankkommander every box sent out for ‘free’ = ‘free advertising’ … so I doubt it is going to eat into the price ‘we’ pay.
Never mind that youtubers that got these ‘free’ boxes are not hobbyists.(period)
They are companies that need to generate profit too.
The only difference is that they keep pretending they are not … which is something I doubt mr taxman will believe (unless they hide the income they generate … ).

[tuffyears 23171xp 0]

Ash was at a warhammer world horus heresey event , thats where he got his box

[waywarddarkwolf 1219xp 1]

Must admit as an HH fan I was excited when the news came out, especially for a new boxed set under 200 quid packed with minis. Now the initial thrill has worn off and I get to see it in real life, I must admit the enthusiasm has been somewhat dampened.

I have to agree with what others have said about the pitfalls of using the older rules and about the new box set being unbalanced and designed to force people to then part with extra cash to even out their forces – the usual GW “dealers” getting their addicts hooked so they can keep hitting them up for more cash.

And at the minute I’m struggling to find enough difference between 30k and 40k (apart from the context and the lore) to justify starting again and spending a sh1t tonne of money and a hell-of-a-lotta build and paint hours to end up with something which I essentially already have and already play – if I want space marines killing space marines I can play 40k Dark Angels vs Space Wolves, whilst appeasing the most puritanical 40kayer by making up some fluff about Chapter honour or chaos taint. I think in the end, GW will need to show me enough variance between 30 and 40k and get their hooks well into my imagination before I can be convinced to start down the 30k path.

 

[limburger 21550xp 1]

the variance we know :

• you can build bigger squads of spacemarines
• everyone can have a big heavy weapon … (if you buy the extra boxes required)

Except for the return of proper spacemarines I can’t see any real reason to play 30k era games.

And to be honest … I think it was at its best when everything from that era was a combination of myth and mystery.
In a way that is the problem with 40k itself as well … everything is a ‘known’ feature.
There is nothing left to explore, nothing left as a surprise.
The Eldar are not mysterious …
The t’au are blue imps with shiny armour.
Tyranids are simply fleshy monsters
Even the Necrons have been reduced to alien robots.

[phaidknott 7014xp 1]

In a way we need to take a step back from seeing the HH box as a “bargain”. Over the years we’ve become so accustomed to high GW prices that we’re starting to see a “starter box” for £200 as “value”. We have to remember that very important phrase here is “starter box” (or rather it’s the first steps down a very expensive rabbit hole). For that £200 you could buy a new washing machine or big screen tv (ok, not a great one but still) rather than some sprues of plastic (to give you an idea of how much profit margin there is in GW plastic). Ok, it’s a hobby and hobby supplies cost. But when you look at what that very same £200 can buy you in historicals or even just other “sci-fi” plastics it’s a LOT more (why you could buy 10 boxes of Perry plastics and get about 420-480 28mm figures).

 

…or finally that £200 is well on the way to buying your first 3D printer 😀

[limburger 21550xp 1]

No starterbox is ever ‘complete’ on its own.
As such they always have been and always will be a way to get you spend more. That’s not to say that some starter boxes are better than others as they do deliver a more complete experience out of the box.

The big problem is that there is no way to buy into HH without buying that big box at the moment.
And even when they release the rulebooks … the total cost of what you’d have to buy would be more than what that ‘starter box’ has in content.

Yes … there are cheaper hobbies out there, but they don’t let you play in the same setting or the same models.

If you want those beaky marines then you’ve got to buy any of the boxes that GW makes.
You may get similar minis on alternate platforms, but wether or not you want to depends on how ‘accurate’ you want your forces to be.

As such you need to sacrifice something if you want to play HH but don’t want to spend the money on GW products.

Part of the reason why these starter sets are so impossible to compare is that you’re never comparing apples to apples.
At best it is apples to oranges … but sometimes you’re comparing apples to trees.

This is the big problem with de facto monopolies within our hobby.
Historicals have an advantage because unless the manufacturer picks a unique scale/style they have to compete on price/quality.
Any fictional setting automatically gets the vendor lock-in advantage, unless they specify the setting to be miniature agnostic which creates its own problems as people tend to be attracted by new shiny instead of mechanics. And even good mechanics can’t help a game if everyone prefers to play the game with the bigger community despite all of its flaws …

So yeah … it’s all about how much you are willing to sacrifice for your hobby.
And you will have to if you don’t have the resources to do so.

[waywarddarkwolf 1219xp 1]

I take both of your comments on board – its always good to hear the voice of reason from someone wiser than myself (not hard to find, I know).

Especially the point about a 3D printer. That’s got my mind wandering now.

The decision has now been made for me however (funny enough now by the Missus for a change).
The Chaos gods have reached out from the warp and have corrupted my power washer.
So the 200 odd quid I had earmarked for potentially spending on the HH starter set must instead be invested in a new power washer.

Fortunately everything I need is included in the box – if it was a GW manufactured power washer I would have to buy the starter kit with only the base unit in the box – the hose would come in a separate kit, the lance in another, the fittings in another, and I would need to spend 25 quid on an instruction manual before I could even turn it on – and the instruction manual would be obsolete this time next year and I’d have to buy another one.
Hmmmmm……comparing apples to oranges….or GW to Karcher….

 

[dawfydd 11895xp 0]

Eh, I’m looking at the HH starter as a really cost effective way to give a boost to one (or more) of my 40k armies to be fair. Admittedly that is as the retailer I plan on buying it from I’m close to enough reward points for a £40 discount voucher. I’m treating the HH rules as more of a bonus feature.

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