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As title says i'm looking to get into 30k, I currently play Adeptus Custodes and Ad-Mech (mostly golden boys) and the current rules and power creep is eating at me. I wanted to take a break, but still feel like playing some games or consuming the media for it, so i figured why not HH? I got some questions and feel free to answer them or give recommendations.

1. Battle Reports - What are some good 30k BR? For 40k I watch Winters SEO, Striking Scorpion and a few others was wondering if theres a few good 30k so i can get a better feel for the rules/play.
2. How many books do i NEED? 40k You need the big two , your army + supplements and you need to know other peoples shenanigans as well it just feels like bloat.
3. How many armies are there in HH? Could i draft my Custodes into it?
4. Whats a good starting...set? to buy.
5. How's the rules bloat is everything as complex as 40k likes to be?
6. Average length of play - 40k its like 3-4 hours per game (which is fine) but that can be a good chunk of time.
7. Are there tournaments or is it all just kinda free play?

Welcome aboard! I'll try and answer as best I can.

Rahdok wrote:
1. Battle Reports - What are some good 30k BR? For 40k I watch Winters SEO, Striking Scorpion and a few others was wondering if theres a few good 30k so i can get a better feel for the rules/play.

The bat-reps that I've been watching (and enjoying) are 30k Channel*, Sector Wargaming and SN Battle Reports. There's probably dozens others out there though. *30k channel has stopped producing bat-reps, and all the ones on his channel are the old ruleset. So while great to watch, they aren't indicative of the current rules.

2. How many books do i NEED? 40k You need the big two , your army + supplements and you need to know other peoples shenanigans as well it just feels like bloat.

Currently, it's the Rulebook and your specific Liber (Astartes/Hereticus/Mechanicum). Custodes don't have rules yet. Although they'll be in the upcoming Liber Imperium. It's set for release before the end of the year I believe.

3. How many armies are there in HH? Could i draft my Custodes into it?

Depends on what you consider an army. If you're talking factions then currently there's 3. Loyalists Astartes, Traitors Astartes and Mechanicum. There's 18 sub-factions between the loyalists and traitors (The 18 Legions) split over the 2 books. I'm not sure if the Mechanicum book has rules for traitors-mech/dark-mech though. The aforementioned Liber Imperium will include Custodes/Sisters of Silence, Solar Auxillia and Assassins. So Custodes will be useable as their own army or yes, you'll be able to ally them into any Loyalist Army.

4. Whats a good starting...set? to buy.

There's only one starter set at the moment, the Age of Darkness. It gives you the rulebook and if memory serves about 2k points worth of marines. Which is a good start. If you aren't interested in the marines then you can get the rulebook by itself.

5. How's the rules bloat is everything as complex as 40k likes to be?

Rules are based off a modified pre-bloat 7th edition. Everything you need to play your army is found within the main rulebook and respective Liber. No additional books required unless you want to use non Legion allies.

6. Average length of play - 40k its like 3-4 hours per game (which is fine) but that can be a good chunk of time.

Really depends on the points level and army type you play. Unless you're playing stuff like Zone Mortalis, 30k games tend to start at the 2k points level and can shift upwards to 3-3.5k. But if you bring Super Heavies/Lords of War they tend to soak up the points So a good ~500 points can easily go into one tank/Primarch.

7. Are there tournaments or is it all just kinda free play?

It totally depends on your local area. Traditionally 30k has had a narrative bent to it's Tournaments and tends not to lean into the competitive side of things. My city has quite a large 30k crowd and is VERY narrative driven. There will no doubt be competitive tournys popping up though in some places though because as said, it really just depends on your area. There's nothing stopping you going balls out primarch-deathstar in a casual game. But you're likely not to make many friends that way.

 Snrub wrote:
Welcome aboard! I'll try and answer as best I can.

3. How many armies are there in HH? Could i draft my Custodes into it?

Depends on what you consider an army. If you're talking factions then currently there's 3. Loyalists Astartes, Traitors Astartes and Mechanicum. There's 18 sub-factions between the loyalists and traitors (The 18 Legions) split over the 2 books. I'm not sure if the Mechanicum book has rules for traitors-mech/dark-mech though. The aforementioned Liber Imperium will include Custodes/Sisters of Silence, Solar Auxillia and Assassins. So Custodes will be useable as their own army or yes, you'll be able to ally them into any Loyalist Army.

Just wanted to add on, (all good advice) there's also Daemons of the Ruinstorm (Proto-daemons before the warp had really solidified into what it is in 40k), and Imperialis Militia & Cults (various PDF grade forces [equivalent to 40k guard] that sided with Horus or Big E). Both are slated to get PDF rules ar some point, so you could use either of their rules for free.

Also knights are there as well but they are not very good unfortunately.