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I was just wondering how I would go about starting 30k. I know that it uses the same rulebook has 40k (not in its entirety, right?) but works slightly differently.
After skimming through the FW website, I noticed there are a bunch of different books that I assume relate to actual gameplay, right? Which brings up a few questions:

1. Which books are absolutely necessary to actually play 30k?
2. What content do the books cover?
3. And what's the cheapest way to get into 30k?

Thanks

1. If you intend on playing a legion which featured at either Isstvan 3 or Isstvan 5 then you'll need both legion astartes army list and the Isstvan campain legion red book. You will be able to get away with having only the legion astartes red book but then you'll miss out on the fun of the Isstvan Campaign

2. The red books are your bare minimum and contain an army list and unit selection for the army list it represents. the black books are more expensive ~£70 but contain fluff about each force, their equipment, how they fight and what they tended to do in war. etc etc. (very useful stuff)

3. Cults/militia list; use your existing models, use the upgrade system to make them wysiwyg and then fun ensues? Betrayal@calth is popular these days (£95) and will give you enough bits that you have to find someone else who also bought one to swap weapons with so you can actually Field a support unit or a heavy support unit.
Personal favourite is The Ordo Reductor with thallax as compulsory troops (£30 per cohort, £80 for 3 cohort bundle) recycle any old techmarines into techpreists/myrmidons and use the titan techpreist as Calleb Decima (£13) and 'requisition' some artillery tanks for some heavy support; maybe a landraider?

A good idea would be to get your hands on the relevant black book once you have picked an army and then go from there with the fluff.

btw: this idea of doing 30k on the cheap is a lie; we all know that it starts as that and then you start wanting to have a go with some breacher marines, and then someone will mention a spartan, then a xiphon, then you'll see the sicarian and then before you know it you've bought an imperial knight and accidentally spent a grand without realizing it!

The new space marine Army List book went up today, you'll need that and the age of darkness legions book if you're playing one of the so far released legions.

To play a space marine legion you only need two books:
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-WW/The-Horus-heresy-legiones-Astartes-Age-of-Darkness-Army-List
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-WW/The-Horus-Heresy-Legiones-Astartes-Age-of-Darkness-Legions
You dont need the second book if you are going to play white scars, dark angels, thousand sons or space wolves.
For Mechanicum you only need this book
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-WW/The-Horus-Heresy-Mechanicum-Taghmata-Army-List
For imperial army including solar auxilia and knights you only need this one
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-WW/The-Horus-Heresy-Crusade-Imperialis-Army-Lists


Automatically Appended Next Post:
You will ofcourse also need a copy of seventh edition 40k (the current one)

The Age of Darkness Legions book is going to be updated soon, so it would probably be best if you look for a PDF of it until the new one comes out.

Also Blood Angels, Dark Angels and White Scars are in Book 6: Retribution, IIRC.