getting started. with one army to play them all?

One of the most exciting aspects of collecting miniatures for Warhammer is the sheer flexibility you can get out of your army. If you are a newcomer to the Warhammer universe it is easy to be put off by the cost of army building. But you may be surprised just how a force from the Horus Heresy setting can pull double duty—working for both Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40,000 and KillTeam games.

With a little planning you can save yourself money (and we all like that), broaden your gaming options, and create a strong narrative theme at the heart of your collection.

In this series, which may take a while to conclude, we are going to do just that! But how?………………....

we’re the same.. but different!

The good news for us all is that many of the core models for Horus Heresy are fully compatible with 40k. Tactical Marines, Predator Tanks, and the mighty Land Raiders all go into a 40k list, with only a few tweaks in wargear or unit upgrades. Not to mention the ability to ‘proxy’ older units as others in a 40k army list, for example use a Horus Heresy Contemptor Dreadnought under the Redemptor Dreadnought 40k stats (there you go - 47 of the Kings shiny sheckles saved straight away!). And while using Legion forces of the 31st Millennium may not be “tournament legal” when ported directly into 40k, most casual and narrative players will welcome the chance to battle against an army steeped in history - remember this is a truly massive Galaxy. The vagaries of warp travel, time dilations and system isolation make the possibilities for the imaginative and keen narrative player pretty much endless!

So how does this save money? In short by avoiding duplicate purchases. Instead of buying two separate armies—one for each system—you can invest in a single, well chosen collection of models.

Magnetising weapon options, painting with a scheme that can make sense in both eras, and selecting units that have rules in both games will give you maximum versatility. Over time, you can build out specific units to tailor your army more for one system or the other, but the foundation remains shared.

While you might not be taking this army to a competitive 40k tournament, it’s a fantastic way to enjoy both games without doubling your hobby budget. More importantly, it helps tie your gaming experiences together—your army’s story could span 10,000 years, with the same models marching to war in both the Age of Darkness and the 41st Millennium.

and so in the next part of this multipart series we will explore just how I’m going about doing this…………..