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It has come up recently that someone asked if they could run their 30k army in a 40k event. Is there much of a difference in the rules? What would be the biggest drawback to allowing the 30k army in a 40k event?

Its the same core rules.

Differences are in the lists/construction. Perfectly compatible because they're literally the same game.

30k marines are underpowered compared to 40k armies.

Consider: a Primarch costs as much as an Imperial Knight. And...isn't one. They may throw oodles of attacks but they're just a bit better than something like a Smashfether but twice the point cost.

30k marines are cheaper but inflexible. A 20 man squad of bolter marines sound scary?

No ATSKNF. Yeah.

No formations.

Chapter tactics that have an actual downside instead of just benefits

30k is usually underpowered to 40k, however there are some combos that can prove fatal to 40k armies (E.G Guardsmen that get WS5 by holding hands!) and some combos are downright silly (EW Legate commander who teleports every turn, teleports when he rolls a 1 on an invun and has a Nanyte blaster to DESTROY your hordes

commander dante wrote:
30k is usually underpowered to 40k, however there are some combos that can prove fatal to 40k armies (E.G Guardsmen that get WS5 by holding hands!) and some combos are downright silly (EW Legate commander who teleports every turn, teleports when he rolls a 1 on an invun and has a Nanyte blaster to DESTROY your hordes

WS 5 guardsmen are still guardsmen, if you're losing to them then it's entirely your fault. And the nanyte blaster is a campaign-only relic that can not be taken in "normal" games. I'll grant you the teleporting (if the model survives the failed save) but it's still just a low-tier character that can't be much more than a fast-moving annoyance.

Well, here some play 30k armies vs 40k armies in friendly games. It seems to mesh well. The approach to build a competitive 30k army is a bit different. 30k armies tend to have larger units (Tacticals) and more resilient tanks (Spartan with flare, LR with ceramite armor). Moreover, Primarchs can be hard to deal with.

I have a friend who plays 30k OR and my armies have gone up fine against him. Wins, draws for my side at least. Sometimes even tight matches. On the other hand I've played against some berk who used conrad curze against a 600 tau list (pre riptide era so my hammerhead was the strongest thing I had) and he murdered everything. So always take caution.

I've been playing 40k vs 30k a lot recently, in a purely non-competitive environment, and it's worked fine. I haven't won much, but that's a combination of low points levels (in a competitive setting, I'd advise at least 1500 points if not higher if you want to make it fair for 30k forces) and me having not played in a few years, so having to re-learn anything. At a mechanical level, they certainly work, and provided you're not going all out competitive, balance shouldn't be an issue (and even then, there are some nasty combos at higher points).

A lot of stuff that seems weak has strengths that might not be apparent to the unfamiliar. For example, the Iron Hands Legion rules do limit your ability to Run or Sweep after combat (need a Ld test in either case), but they reduce the Strength of ALL incoming weapons by 1, functionally giving you T5 against most forces' small arms. Raven Guard have a limit on tanks, but can Infiltrate or Outflank anything in Power Armour, and gain Furious Charge on anything in TDA or on bikes, which is pretty awesome for no real downside unless you wanted to go armour-heavy (in which case, why are you playing Raven Guard? )

All Bolters in a squad? How about the ability to fire those Bolters twice at the expense of firing next turn, for 4 Bolter shots per model at Rapid Fire range?

And then there's stuff like Sicarans and Fire Raptors that are great no matter what, and units that can pack a Special or Heavy weapon on every model, which used right can match any infantry for sheer firepower potential.

As with anything, it does all depend on how far you want to take things (I can't see an easy counter to Scatterbikes or 5 Flyrants ect in a Legion list, but then the same could be said for most 40k stuff as well). in a semi-competitive environment and at a decent points level, it should be a fair fight.

 Peregrine wrote:

commander dante wrote:
30k is usually underpowered to 40k, however there are some combos that can prove fatal to 40k armies (E.G Guardsmen that get WS5 by holding hands!) and some combos are downright silly (EW Legate commander who teleports every turn, teleports when he rolls a 1 on an invun and has a Nanyte blaster to DESTROY your hordes

WS 5 guardsmen are still guardsmen, if you're losing to them then it's entirely your fault. And the nanyte blaster is a campaign-only relic that can not be taken in "normal" games. I'll grant you the teleporting (if the model survives the failed save) but it's still just a low-tier character that can't be much more than a fast-moving annoyance.

Relics are INTENDED for use in campaign games, the rules change states that you should ask your opponent first (if it isnt a campaign game)

Volkite weapons can decimate Tyranid swarms, Orks, and Guardsmen really fast.

Some armies will not perform as wella s others vs 30K.
Eldar, Tau (power armor heavy) and Necrons can probably hold their own.

Balance depends heavily on at how many points you are playing. At 2000 it might start evening out because 30K will pull out disgusting weaponry to even out against the 40Ks MSU.

Below 2000 I would bet more on 40K winning.

 tau tse tung wrote:
I have a friend who plays 30k OR and my armies have gone up fine against him. Wins, draws for my side at least. Sometimes even tight matches. On the other hand I've played against some berk who used conrad curze against a 600 tau list (pre riptide era so my hammerhead was the strongest thing I had) and he murdered everything. So always take caution.

You can't take more than 25% of your army as lords of war. If you run lower than 1750 points, no primarchs should be able to show up anyway.

Plus would anything have gone differently if the same jerk had run, say, a baneblade as his whole army? :/

... Although there is a new rite of war thY lets you take a primarch as HQ without points restrictions

the_scotsman wrote:

 tau tse tung wrote:
I have a friend who plays 30k OR and my armies have gone up fine against him. Wins, draws for my side at least. Sometimes even tight matches. On the other hand I've played against some berk who used conrad curze against a 600 tau list (pre riptide era so my hammerhead was the strongest thing I had) and he murdered everything. So always take caution.

You can't take more than 25% of your army as lords of war. If you run lower than 1750 points, no primarchs should be able to show up anyway.

Plus would anything have gone differently if the same jerk had run, say, a baneblade as his whole army? :/

I posted what he did in a thread a few years ago, to cut the story short he was a very strange man who was trying to get a place at my local gw. (Fat, sweaty, covered in dark knight tattoos) A child wanted to test out his new DV army but lacked points and since i was the only person in the shop i was roped into playing with them. The employee then "as a intro" played Curze and wiped us out by turn 2. Kid was close to tears but in the end he ended up sticking to the hobby. Good for him i say.

Anyway back to topic, yes i would never place a Lord of War again like that!

30k hasn't suffered from the points drop that 40k had had over the last 1-2 years. As a result, 30k armies are usually underpowered compared to 40k. Also, grav weapons work differently in 30k and aren't as powerful. They can be played against each other but it's usually an uphill battle for the 30k player.