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Horus Heresy: Betrayal At Calth Launches From Games Workshop
November 7, 2015 by brennon
Games Workshop have now opened up pre-orders for the Horus Heresy: Betrayal At Calth board game alongside support from Forge World. I'm sure a fair few of you have just been hitting the refresh button all morning on your computers so prepare to buy quickly as I'm sure these will sell out like hotcakes...
The box art is certainly rather special it has to be said and the product as a whole is put together nicely. Then again, Games Workshop have always been good at putting together interesting boxed content like this.
Inside The Box
So I guess the next step is to dive right into the middle of the game and see what's inside.
Within the guts of Betrayal At Calth you get...
- 30x Space Marines with assorted weapons
- 5x Cataphractii Terminators
- Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought
- Praetor/Captain Aethon
- Chaplain Kurtha Sedd
...and loads more including the actual board game itself for you to play, re-enacting the battle between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers over six scenarios. The models themselves, not simple push fit jobs, are going to be on a lot of peoples wishlists and I can see a few people picking up multiple copies of this to start their own Legions.
Now I get to see the models better the more I like them. I wasn't sure about going in on a boxed set with a friend but I think now it would be good to have it on the painting table. I'm going to looking at turning my half of the box into Emperor's Children with purple armour all over the place!
What is also interesting is that Games Workshop showed off an alternative way to paint up both sides to make it a full set of miniatures for the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers. You can see the two armies below...
...and I do like that with a little bit of a different paint job they turn from Loyalists to Traitors very easily. I still don't like the Contemptor as the pose is just a little awkward but everything else is ace looking.
Forge World Support
The guys over at Forge World are also lending their support for those who wish to add to their favourite Legion. You can get both the Ultramarine and Word Bearer Task Forces which including optional chest plates, shoulder pads and more to customising your force.
...and they also have some rolling armour for those of you who think that the infantry just isn't enough. You can also get the Devastation Force add-on or the Armoured Might add-on which brings in a whole range of Forge World's big beefy vehicles to supplement your marines.
Where the game is going to live or die as a product that isn't just sold on eBay a month or two down the line is where the support for it goes next.
I have a feeling they are going to bring out subsequent boxed sets like this each telling a different part of the narrative.
What do you think?
"The models themselves, not simple push fit jobs, are going to be on a lot of peoples wishlists and I can see a few people picking up multiple copies of this to start their own Legions..."
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Pre-ordered a box yesterday and looking forward to getting my hands on it, Think I’ll paint the ones I arn’t using for my IW’s as World Bearers. Wonder how hard it will be to cut and re-pose that Dread.
re-posing should be simple enough with a razor saw 😉
I will find it interesting to see how this goes for GW as the box is clearly aimed to get new players into HH, but I wonder if the extreme prices of everything else will still put them off.
For example selling a £95 boxed set and then offering other bundles of £225, £450 and £870 is pure marketing bizarreness.
To really take advantage of this GW need to release a couple of cheap vehicles and a proper affordable ruleset to get people playing, otherwise what is the point? You will sell a few boxed sets to people who will more than likely buy nothing else from the range, and for everyone else you will just be giving cheaper models to people who would probably have bought them from FW anyway.
Obviously cheap models for existing players is a good thing, but I still feel like GW are fumbling around when it comes to these decisions, hamstrung by their previous choices. The fact that it is limited edition just tells you all you need to know about their inability to commit to this project for any long term benefit.
Ultimately I do believe this whole exercise has been orchestrated to make their Christmas sales figures look better.
There is no limited stock from GW. Maybe wayland had limited.
My Wayland Games email said that the production run was limited, which if incorrect is actually quite a big blunder of them to say so.
Saying it’s limited will sell more. Wayland Games be misinformed or seeking to sell faster. Either way they are wrong about this being limited and should change their statement.
Yet The Heresy backdrop uses 7th edition rules. Some 6th, as well.
This isn’t going to be a ‘third’ line. It’s simply to sell space marines to people who already have lots of space marines. Yet again, hilariously proving GW right.
“It’s simply to sell space marines to people who already have lots of space marines. Yet again, hilariously proving GW right.”
Makes no sense. You do not drastically reduce prices on a product to sell to people who already have said product.
You do that either to:
1) Attract new customers.
or
2) Temporarily boost sales figures.
Due to the weirdness I mentioned above my bet is on number two, it is to prop up their Christmas sales figures.
Wonder how the support for another limited product will be .. also wondering how much variation you can have with just 2 double sided boards that are quite small considering the amount of minis. Buying without a guarantee for future support or a sneak peak gameplay vid is a definate no sir.
This is not a limited release. They will keep making it until people stop buying it. They have made a lot of these boxes and even more waiting to fill with sprue once they sell the ones they have already made. This will not be a limited release no matter what people on here keep saying
According to wayland its a limited release
They might mean they have limited stock. This is GW’s brand new, third ‘core’ game to replace Lord of the Rings.
Limited product, dont miss out .. thats their words, but sure they could be refering to stock
I read somewhere that it will be a time “limited” release so it will be avaible for a amount of months and then they will release the content seperately.
I’m more interessted in what we will see later, just new boxes of HH Marines? Or Expansions boxes for the boardgame or even a 30K ruleset from GW?
According to the manager in my local store it isn’t a limited run. There will be restocks of the game in future. He didn’t say how long the game would be in production or for how long it would be restocked though.
I’m with Warren on this though, i think it’s a potential wave front for making Horus Heresy into a mainstream aspect of the hobby.
Waylands statement in email:
“The production run is limited so if you want a copy get your pre-orders in because after that it may never come back.”
speaking to my friend who is a manager in GW he’s been told by his bosses that this will stay on store shelves for as long as people keep buying it. they’ve made a hell of a lot of these box sets and they have also have many more boxes sitting around so they can make more sprues and fill the extra boxes once they have sold the original amount. the reason behind this was they didn’t want this to turn out like the space hulk box set and have people on ebay selling it at a stupidly high price with it being limited. so wayland games saying “This boxed game is a limited product. Do not miss out on this awesome and beautiful set!” is not correct, most likely that they only have a limited stock of it
I was hoping to get some cheap marines black reach style. But ill find better deal on ebay , with all the ppl abandoning the sinkng ship.
I don’t understand what you mean. Could you elaborate?
I think he (and I) were hoping to see a £75 RRP box, which would then be around £60 from resellers for cheap marines, rather than £95…
it seems that the formula to sell a bunch of plastic minis packed with a basic one-off board game is taking root.
lots of people will buy the box for the low price per model rate and throw away the remaining. all the more if they sell as a “limited” edition.
great formula as gw can cover their costs of plastic molds by carefully planning a limited print run. then afterwards, the molds can be used to sell further for other kits
i am not excited by all the models except maybe the special characters and not seeing the rules either is a big “no way” for me.
Nice miniatures (still look barely different to 40k, except termies, and dread)
But I’m afraid too little 10 years too late, I hope this is a turn around for GW.
I don’t really care about the game, I just want those MKIV marines.
I’m looking forward to transforming them into Sons of Horus with all those FW bits I’ve ordered as well. This is gonna be an awesome hobby project for me..without spending crazy money.
Can’t wait to get started 😎
Those marine sprues are immense. I’d seen pictures of them on here, on BoW but when the guy in store showed me the remaining bits yesterday I was totally gobsmacked. It hasn’t necessarily convinced me that want to build a Space Marines army but it certainly tugged at all those nostalgia strings. I felt like I was looking at my first box of Space Marines, way back in 1990.
These are great looking models and decently priced. The fact that they come with a game all the better. Will confess to ordering two… will be augmenting my world eaters and painting the factions in the box. Looking forward to the project.
Well I bit the bullet and ordered 2 sets, mad I know but at 25% discount I somehow managed to convince myself it was the best thing to do. Just when I thought I was out they pull you back in.
Mind saying who’s giving 25% discount? 🙂
These guys are quite cheap:
https://www.darksphere.co.uk/pgc.php?c=929
I don’t care about game itself. Those 30k marines how ever are another matter.
Personall I think most of the marines are very dull, undynamic abd boring looking. There are a few exceptions but mostly I’m not impressed.
*fan girl squeal”
not to want to jump to conclusions but the company I ordered from has already sold out, they say they are trying to get a small amount more, this may mean the set is limited release after all, or as some have said the first wave of production sets. and their will be a second edition.
Disclaimer: i help out at my local model shop, so know a bit about the ordering practices but nothing else
As far as i know its not a limited release, but there is limited initial release stock, with the rep saying that cut off date to apply for additional stock will be monday, and even then its not guaranteed allocations. Also seem to be changes to the paint range coming, further evidenced by the teaser for next weeks WD in the back of this weeks, i.e. looks like lamenters yellow is being discontinued as well as some other shades… (why get rid of the yellow side of glazes i don’t know!)
So does that mean they will only supply the local retailers if they order up until Monday, that seems deeply unfair.
I heard about the end of Lamenters, that just seems stupid to remove it.
I think there is a good chance of getting stock after monday, but it all depends on how well it sells, typical GW manufactured scarcity. Most ordering is done by tuesday as it gives the retailers a few days to sort stock etc, as it gets delivered thursday or friday for the saturday release day. And with the recent tau ordering cockup i imagine the reps have been told to get orders in early to avoid over selling the initial stock… No idea if and when a second stock allocation will happen, probably before christmas, also dont forget its bonus time of year, so reps will be doing all they can to get shift units…
Well, given their financial years ends around these times, I can understand them not wanting a few thousand boxes sitting at a warehouse.
This box is going to sell in vulgar numbers, so ofc there will be a shortage of supply, even in the best of times.
I was in my local GW this morning and I asked the manager who confirmed that it is not a limited run game and will be restocked in the future.
I also had a quick game and it was a very simple mechanice and makes for a quick and engaging game. Initiative is determined at the start of the round with a simple roll off and the game works on individual unit activations in an alternating sequence (you activate one unit, then your opponent) until there are no activations left, then it’s a new round. Each unit can be activated twice per round and a single activation allows a move or shoot. Combat involves rolling dice (number of which determined by the weapon, standard bolter is 2) and scoring “hits” based on the icons that appear which builds a pool of hits and saves are made by rolling dice and scoring “defences” (again, number of dice is determined by the target’s armour). Each successful defence rolled removes a successful hit from the attacker’s pool and if there are more hits remaining than the stamina value of the target, the target dies and those to hits are removed from the pool. You repeat this process until there are no longer enough hits in the attack dice pool to cause a wound (minimum of 2 required to wound a tactical marine) at which point the remaining hits are lost.
As an example, when shooting tactical marines with Bolters, you roll 2 dice to attack and 2 dice to defend, the attacker needs to roll 2 hit icons to beat the target’s stamina of 2. The defender only needs to roll 1 save icon to negate the damage because that would remove
1 of the successful hit dice lowering the number of hits to below the required 2. There are more hit icons on each dice than save icons but I can’t remember the exact ratios. Some weapons have special rules but I can’t remember all of them – I do remember the Missile Launcher being particularly brutal, as is the Melta Gun.
In addition to this, you get a special card each turn which you can play at the appropriate time to drop some fairly nasty surprises on your opponent (such as being able to shoot through blocked locations).
All in all, having played it I think it’s a very good offering from Games Workshop, even before you take into account the fantastic new miniatures.
Dice mechanic is very much the same as the Heroquest dice mechanic. Not a bad thing at all in my opinion.
I also like that GW have made a game with alternating unit activation which (i beleive) is a first for them and may be a good thing for future editions of 40k.
Considering Space Marines are the only thing GW is selling these days, it makes sense to go for a “only Marines” system.
Funny how this giant amount Minis in the Calth box still wont give you reasonable sized army in the HH enviroment.
That is not entirely true.
Use the Pride of the Legion Rites of War. Field 3 veteran tactical squads as troops.
Then you are at least half way to a decent HH army.
And it is funny to read all the GW bashing comments. It must be annoying being so grumpy that you have to keep pissing on other peoples hobbies.
I haven’t seen any evidence of people “pissing” on anyones hobby in these comments.
Do you always resort to snide comments like this when people say things you disagree with?
Now who is really grumpy here ?
First of all, its my hobby too, GW just is not my company of choice (anymore). Dont take it personal, then it doesnt feel like someone peed on you.
Of course there are shortcuts but the HH fun really starts at a model count thats beyond for me.
Its great if people have the hobby nuts to tackle 80+ tactical marine projects + transports and toys, its just not for me. There probably more people than choke on this task than ones that conquer it.
And GW thinks its the rules that are the hurdle in entering this hobby : D
It’s not the only thing they sell. They sold an Eldar Warlock this morning. I know this because I bought it.
GW is a model company and not a game company and I want a good game. So I wait and see how this 30K evolves.
Having played it, I think this is a good game. And I’m not a fanboi by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t currently play any of the main GW games
Classy. A down vote for my last post.
Maybe an English teacher was offended by your misspelling of fanboy?
Perhaps, but “fanboi” is a bloody stupid term used to belittle someone’s enjoyment of something. I’m not prepared to validate it by applying correct English spelling to it. I suppose I was pre-empting being accused of Fanboiery by explaining that I am anything but.
The set actually gives you really good value for money points wise, easily over 1000prd.
You select pride of the legion and then run either 3 or 6 veteran squads (especially if you are iron warriors :s) which for three squads of 10 I believe are 775 points without any equipment (not completely sure as my books are at home), plus their weapons as precision shorting with plasma is funny as are rending heavy bolters. A preator, which normally rocks up at the 200pt mark, a Chaplin which could be 100pts easily, a terminator squad (not sure on points but I think they are 225 as well. Oh and a contemptor, probably run as the ever popular mortis with double kheres assault cannons of the top of my head another 185.
Total points around 1300 roughly, so pretty good value as you will only need another 700pts to have a very competitive HH army, which could be (depending on legion) not a huge amount more.
I think I will get some of the marine’s if/when the add on boxes are released not to bothered with the game.
A game that no one asked for, with minis that everyone wants.
Something else that some people might be interested in. After my demo game the manager showed me the rrest of the sprues with all the spare bits. For anyone old enough to remember RTB01, this looked very reminiscent of that. Obviously the quality of the parts was 25 years better but the style of the bits, the amount of them and the sheer variety of options in there is fantastic. Any Space Marine player will love them and anyone for whom things were better in their day, well I’d say definitely have a look at it, for old times sake.
It’s fairly obvious this isn’t going to be ‘limited’, or if it is, the sprues will still get made. After all, each ‘component’ is on a separate sprue. Makes it easy to run off more marines, box and sell them then do the same for the Terminators/dreadnought.
The ‘board game’ looks comically simplistic production wise. I imagine that’s because there are thousands of collectors (calling themselves gamers) who want space marines.
I imagine that Forgeworld are running out of steam with the basic marines and that’s holding up getting the ‘interesting’ stuff out the door. Can’t blame them – Forgeworld sell more kits, Workshop sell more sprues, Games Workshop makes money.
I don’t think anyone is denying that GW plan to sell Heresy era marines in plastic at some point in the probably near future – at this stage it’s not “if” it’s “when”.
Not sure what you mean by comically simplistic production. The quality of the board pieces when I saw them seemed to be on a par with other GW games such as Space Hulk – nice thick card, double sided, with a decent standard of artwork and a glossy finish. The miniatures were better than their current tactical marine squad, having as much detail but a greater variety of options and components available to customise them. I didn’t really get to look at the rule book although it looked very much in keeping with the Space Hulk rule book; about the size of the White Dwarf weekly magazine. The remaining components of the game – dice and cards etc – all seemed of a decent quality (although I’m not sure what a sub-standard quality dice would look like, after all it’s a dice). There was nothing about this game I would say was “comical”. It’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, granted, but it’s no more comical than Space Marines themselves.
Well, I’m excited! I think the game sounds like a load of fun. May not exactly keep me entertained for years but we will see, and models will be a blast to assemble and paint in any event.
I wouldn’t say it’s the kind of game to keep you entertained for years, not in the same way as a true wargame like 40k. But it will be fun for a quick pick-up-and-play type of thing, something you can do without any planning and kill an hour or so. I also think there’s a certain level of re-playability in the scenarios, that something like Space Hulk doesn’t necessarily have. If you can get to a GW store to try it out, I’d definitely recommend doing so.
There was a time when GW made not only great miniatures but great games as well. Sadly I think these times are over. The only good thing is that I not only have memories but the games of that times as well ;).
If you get the opportunity to play this, give it a go. I really enjoyed the demo game yesterday. But bear in mind it is definitely a board game, it’s not a wargame.
I’ve never played 40k but this set has drawn me in and I’ve preordered.
i think the set looks great and I’m eager to get a game in.
Why do all the Marines look really bored? Both feet stuck to the ground, faces forward, weapons languishing lazily in their mitts. Looks like the 31st millenium had a short supply of adrenal glands.
I think GW goes for a certain style in starter packs which is not over the top and quite uniform.
I’m not sure exactly why but I’m guessing there is a reason.
Everything besides the Tactical squads looks good. The tactical guys literally look just like the normal squad just with changed helmets and a few studs placed on pads. I could literally take one of my many marine models place it beside them and not know the difference if I cover the heads of both. Grant it I’m told that the box comes with loads of extra bits and this layout just showcases the bare bones.
Well the helmets, the chestplate, the lower half of the backpack and some armour plates on the arms and legs look different.
But yes the MKIV look more or less like the new ones, the MKI to MKIII look more different.
the boards are a great idea just to get playing the Heresy
I wouldn’t know were to start with 30K terrain – so back to that Space Crusade idea is good
Interesting to see some of the GW images reflect the force painted up as fully Ultras or WBs. Seems they are looking at HH players embracing this.
The game is very specific. It’s Word Bearers vs Ultramarines even in so far as there are 2 decks of cards, one for Word Bearers and one for Ultramarines with legion specific nomenclature and iconography. The models themselves don’t contain any legion markings so you can paint them however you wish, but the game is designed as Word Bearers vs Ultrmarins.
I just played through a mission in store this afternoon. It plays really fast and you get a real feeling that the different weapon types make a difference, even though they typically only add extra dice to your pool and have special effects on critical hits. The command cards are a real key element, both in terms of when you choose to use them strategically, and the fact that their drawing (at least in the mission I played) controls the length of the game.
I’m not sure how much longevity the game will have, as it is fairly stripped down rules wise, but it is definitely fun and the rules seem to be well thought out.
I strongly recommend against legion torsos if your minis hold the bolter with two arms in front of the chest. You see almost nothing of the torso and its just a waste of money. Take the standard ones.
i’d agree mostly. I ordered one set of them for the 20 word bearers but a couple of sets of shoulder pads and helmets.