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Ever since it was leaked as part of Games Workshop’s marketing campaign,Warhammer: The Horus Heresy3.0has been a magnet for controversy. From mixed reactions to the new models, to endless queries about the rules, it seemed like an update that was struggling to justify the necessity of its existence. However, a new bombshell leak has exposed tons of information about the new edition, and this time, in a way that Games Workshop had no control over.
The UK-based leading miniature wargaming company has been on a rapid rise in recent years. Its IPs were gaining steady traction for decades, until 2020 saw a rapid surge of interest. This was further bolstered with the releases ofTotal War: WarhammerandSpace Marine 2, two products that introduced many gamers to the worlds ofWarhammer, converting many into first-time tabletop hobby fans. But not everything has gone smoothly for Games Workshop, and this latest wave of backlash has only served to sour many fans who were previously on the fence about all the upcoming changes inHorus Heresythird edition.
The Full Story of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy’s 3.0 Leaks Is a Messy One
For a couple of months now, Games Workshop has been teasing the imminent arrival of its next big update to the popularHorus Heresygame system. Prior to this, though, the game had not been without its quirks. Launched in 2012 thanks to the success of the book series,Horus Heresyfirst edition lasted a robust10 years before getting an update, as a slow trickle of resin and plastic models were released over the decade to gradually build up the system. In 2022, Games Workshop designated it a Specialist Game, rebranding it asWarhammer: The Horus Heresy, drastically increasing its support for the game mode with an unprecedented number of plastic releases.
It All Started With Games Workshop “Leaking” the Edition
In recent years, Games Workshop has been following a three-year release cadence for its games, and many speculated thatThe Horus Heresycould get the same treatment. When Games Workshop spun up its own rumor mill dubbed The Horus Hearsay in May, this all-but confirmed the game system would follow a three-year cycle too. Over the next month, various “leaks” would emerge, until a suspicious posting of the Saturnine launch box to Facebook Marketplace finally put it all out in the open.
Of course, this drip-feeding through “leaks” had all been planned by Games Workshop. Soon after, it was fully revealed, and many blog articles went up onWarhammer Communityto showcase all the changes in the new edition. While many aspects of the game remained the same from second edition, there were some notable tweaks to the rules that made some players nervous. Still, without a full picture, many players held out for the full release to pass judgement; that was until a completely unplanned leak spilled far more details than Games Workshop had intended.
Horus Heresy 3.0 Didn’t Revamp the Rules So Much as Gut Them
A week ago, large portions of theHorus HeresyLiberswere leaked online, and this time, Games Workshop had no control. Immediately, the information spread like wildfire: legion rules were stripped back, Rites of War were gone, many units were removed, and strangest of all, many more had their wargear options heavily limited. With a slightly lukewarm reception to the models and a mixed one for the cherry-picked rules shown off so far, this treasure trove of information caused an enormous uproar from many fans.
Much of the depth and flavor that players came to love from the first and second editions was gone. Now, each legion had a single, simple trait that adjusted them in ways that paled in comparison to older rulesets, and many of the supplemental extras were also removed in favor of shifting attention to the core Legiones Astartes army list. All sorts of armies were instantly invalidated, such asWhite Scarsbiker forces, as many of the rules supporting their creation were all removed, and a lot of players looked at their armies on the shelf to see just how many models had been made illegal overnight. Other armies such as Death Guard lost key aspects of their identity, which had arguably been missing since second edition, now made unrecognizable by their lackluster ruleset.
…a completely unplanned leak spilled far more details than Games Workshop had intended.
But what made things worse was how inconsistently Games Workshop had approached things. One of the company’s core design tenets recently has been that the rules must reflect the contents of a box. Yet, all sorts of units with wargear in their boxes suddenly couldn’t take them, the most infamous example beingSpace Marine Tartaros Terminators. Supplied with Power Fists on the sprue, these iconic weapons were left out of the unit’s rules, putting a huge hole in the legal army lists of many armies across the playerbase. Many units with existing models were similarly removed from the Liber for no apparent reason, with the highly popular Destroyer Squad relegated to the Legacies of the Age of Darkness PDF.
Legacies of the Age of Darkness Puts The Horus Heresy 3.0 Between a Rock and a Hard Place
In response to the massive amounts of backlash, Games Workshop released the first look at the Legacies of the Age of Darkness PDF very recently, rushing to defend many of the decisions taken. The Legacies PDF was already a controversial document in second edition, as many units without models were banished from the prior edition’s books to the PDF, where the rules writing was far more inconsistent. Units in Legacies are frequently givenunbalanced rulesand receive no support in balance updates, and the dubious rules legality of the document has sometimes made it unreliable for tournament play.
Now, things are different, as even models that are purchasable from the website today are only found in the PDF, and the number of units in it has risen considerably since second edition, asGames Workshop’s tabletop gamemotto of “no model, no rules” has been enforced inconsistently. Because of this, the PDF has become quite bloated, with some units featuring twice in both the Libers and the PDF, the only difference being their wargear. This change mirrors Games Workshop’s more recent approach to its core game systems, where many units that previously had plenty of options have been split up into differently designated units, their loadouts heavily limited to whatever the Datasheet spells out.
Horus Heresy Third Edition Is Taking Notes From Warhammer 40K in All the Wrong Ways
Warhammer 40K10th edition has been one of the game’s most controversial, bringing many fans into the hobby, while pushing others to Games Workshop’s other game systems.The Horus Heresywas seen by40K’s current detractors as a good way to engage with the hobby in a ruleset that steered closer to an older version of40K, embracing a lot more of the flavor and chaos. With this latest edition ofThe Horus Heresyconsolidating the rules into a format far more in line with the modern40Kgame, many fans have been left wondering if the game system is even for them anymore.
This is because the key distinguishing factor thatThe Horus Heresyhad going for it was its hands-off nature. Where Games Workshop exerted considerable control over40KandAge of Sigmar’s models,Heresywas a game system that allowed players to create entirely bespoke, one-off armies using rules that were designed around friendly games instead of tournament play. By resembling the more rigid structure of 10th edition40K, with restrictive options and removed units, a lot of the spark has leftHeresy3.0, and some players are already returning to prior editions before the new one had even released.
The Three-Year Edition Churn Might Not Be Right for The Horus Heresy
A popular point of conversation around this latest edition of the game has been the necessity, or lack thereof, for a three-year edition cycle. In Games Workshop’sbest-supported games, the three-year cycle can already feel quite short, as it shortens the time an edition has to shine, and some armies don’t get an update until right before the next edition launches. In a game that is less supported, likeHeresy, where the audience is typically older with less time to play, a lot of players have started doubting the need for a full refresh every three years.
Some players had hoped that a three-year edition cycle might bring tweaks and fixes to second edition instead, but Games Workshop’s commitment to making 3.0 standout has ironically done more damage to the game than if it had played it safe. Unfortunately forHeresyplayers, there is no going back now, and fans ofWarhammer: The Old Worldmay be looking on nervously at the precedent thatHorus Heresy3.0 has established.
