Advice On Starting HH Age Of Darkness

[KAINE-77]

I was hoping for a little advice from the anyone more familiar with the rule sets, as I would like to move from Kill Team to Age Of Darkness.

 

Essentially, I prefer small games, but I get the impression that HH games are huge, so unsure of what would be the average size of an army would be.

It's easy to judge 40K for combat patrols etc, are we talking about the box set for a starter army?

 

 

[LameBeard]

I would say HH 2.0 is less obviously “go big or go home” than HH 1.0.  You are encouraged to have big armies (say 3000 points) but smallish games are possible (say 1000 points), especially if you play Zone Mortalis.

 

A bare minimum army is 1 HQ and 2 troops, c 300 - 500 points? The min size for tactical squad is 10 marines, but can go to 20.  A minimum Zone Mortalis army is 1 HQ, 1 troops, 1 elites. Terminators are popular, minimum squad size 5, but encouraged to go to 10.

 

The box set is good value. As with most GW games, splitting the starter box isn’t enough to get 2 satisfying armies, but plenty good enough for a core of one, if you don’t mind missing some of the cool toys. I think the Spartan is overkill for smaller games so I would not prioritise it, but there are lots of fun tank choices for bigger armies. Contemptors are very popular though.

 

I am in a similar spot: I like smaller games, and smaller tables, and I’m struggling to get to 1000 points before my attention wanders. I think the rules are okay, but I am looking at alternative rulesets now to try to get smaller, quicker games to work.

 

TLDR: buy the box set, sell/save the Spartan. You will easily have 1000 points. Play some games (find White Dwarf ZM rules).

 

 

 

 

 

[KAINE-77]

Thank you so much, that's exactly the kinda info/breakdown I was after!

 

So, to get started at the most basic entry level, I could pick up a Legion Praetor and a Legion Tactical Squad, then I would be able add to that, if I get further down the rabbit hole? The box set looks amazing, but really wanted to start small!

 

Thanks again 

 

Edited April 11 by KAINE-77

[N1SB]

Hi Brother Kaine, I agree with Brother Lame Bear, I don't want to confuse you, but there's something you need to know.

 

Rites of War.  These are extra options for your list-building.  For example, you'll still need the 1 HQ and 2 Troops, but with the right Rites of War, Terminators or Contemptor Dreadnoughts can be your Troops.  You can do an all Terminator army, and I'm actually doing an all Contemptor Dreadnought army.

 

Others would make a case that a new player shouldn't look at Rites of War from the start.  Their point is actually very reasonable, they want you to learn the fundamentals 1st.  But I really wish someone had told me about Rites of War when I started (back in mid-1st ed 30k), so I give a heads up to all new 30k players.

[LameBeard]

Good point @N1SB, if there is something you really like, there may be a Rite of War for you! But if we set that aside for one moment, the available compulsory troops are:

 

tactical

despoiler (close combat but on foot)

assault (jump packs)

breacher (ie shields)

tactical is much the cheapest, because you can build one box of 20 as 2x10.

 

You could also choose other HQ options apart from the Praetor. He “unlocks” most rites of war, but many different characters can function as the compulsory HQ (just not all!). So a praetor is safe but if you liked the look of the double-pack (from Calth set) or you were going Space Wolves/Thousand Sons (from Prospero set) that would work, for example.
 

TLDR: yes!

Edited April 11 by LameBeard

[Noserenda]

I wouldn't buy anything in the starter box outside of it honestly, you'd essentially be paying quite a markup but splitting a box is actually a good idea even if it's not straightforward. Or grab something like assault marines or one of the many other characters to get started.

 

 

[TheArtilleryman]

9 hours ago, KAINE-77 said:

So, to get started at the most basic entry level, I could pick up a Legion Praetor and a Legion Tactical Squad, then I would be able add to that, if I get further down the rabbit hole? The box set looks amazing, but really wanted to start small!

You could, but I’d honestly look at eBay because there are so many people selling bundles from the starter set that you can get some great deals. A tactical squad and praetor from GW is gonna cost you more than 70 quid alone. Just recently I got the starter set plus both marine liber books plus a bunch more models for just over a hundred. 
 

If you’re not going to buy the starter box though, it’s worth picking up the Rulebook from eBay because I’ve seen that going often for as little as 12 quid including shipping.

[LameBeard]

Certainly that’s how I got started, bought the rulebook and tacticals from a box-splitter. From memory it was about £25 for rulebook and £16 per 10 tacticals (including upgrade sprue but not decals).  It seems now rulebooks are cheaper but tacticals more expensive (can’t see less than £19 per 10). I think it’s because plenty of people are in their second box, so rules are less in demand.

 

If @KAINE-77 prefers Mk III,  it wouldn’t be much more expensive to get a box of 20 of those for your starting tacticals. I’ve been scouring for cheap deals to no avail myself!

[Xenith]

You might still be able to find the Legion Battlegroup that was released last december for £125/£100 from a reseller, which is also a great deal.

 

Buying separately, legion tactical squads come in units of 20 for ~£50, which is your 2 troops, a praetor model is then ~£15? And that will be about 450pts after you  gear the models up.

145 - Tactical squad - serge, power fist, bayonets, vexilla, augury

145 - Tactical squad - serge, power fist, bayonets, vexilla, augury

150 - Praetor - paragon blade

440pts

 

And this is cool for small games, however if your opponents are happy to run 1 compulsory troop, get the special weapons box to make 1-2 support squads also, to add some cool units. 

[TheArtilleryman]

@KAINE-77

 

Good deal on some brand new tacticals here:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404915995407?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bvcvdca9qde&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=zLSzlyX6Rui&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Edited April 12 by TheArtilleryman

[Xenith]

Additional now I have more time

 

The AoD box, unless you dislike Mk6 or dont want a cataphractii in spartan blob, is a really good option, and I'd say get one if you find you like heresy, after you have this small force. The addition of a heavy weapon or special weapon set means that the 40 additional tacticals can be build as special or heavy weapon units, or even repurposed as recon marines etc. 

 

[LameBeard]

11 hours ago, Xenith said:

You might still be able to find the Legion Battlegroup that was released last december for £125/£100 from a reseller, which is also a great deal.

 

Buying separately, legion tactical squads come in units of 20 for ~£50, which is your 2 troops, a praetor model is then ~£15? And that will be about 450pts after you  gear the models up.

145 - Tactical squad - serge, power fist, bayonets, vexilla, augury

145 - Tactical squad - serge, power fist, bayonets, vexilla, augury

150 - Praetor - paragon blade

440pts

 

And this is cool for small games, however if your opponents are happy to run 1 compulsory troop, get the special weapons box to make 1-2 support squads also, to add some cool units. 

If you find that Legion Battlegroup then I’ll split it with you! 

[KAINE-77]

Just wanted to say thank you to you all, for all of the in depth and informative advice and explanations.

It's given me a brilliant start to Age Of Darkness, and I'm keen to start my collection (I'm lurking on ebay already)!

 

I've always loved the Horus Heresy, it holds a great deal of nostalgia for me as I got this as a kid:

 

 

 

 

 

Now  just gotta figure out which Legion I want to play!

Edited April 13 by KAINE-77