At the dawn of the 31st Millennium the galaxy is now rife with all-out conflict and war. The age of darkness has descended upon us and any plans that the emperor had is now lost. A massive civil war has broken out between two chapters of the imperial space marines. The Word Bearers have begun their assault on the Ultramarines homeworld, but will they be pacified by their enemies — or leave the world in ruin and flame? This is the setting of Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth, the latest Warhammer 40,000 offering from Games Workshop.

This new boxed set allows the players to take command of one of two squads in the Warhammer 40,000 universe — the mighty Ultramarines or the fearsome Word Bearers. You first decide which of the scenarios you want to play and set up the board, accordingly. Next, players roll to see who begins the initiative phase. During the Ready Phase you draw a command card and all units on the board are given two tactical points. The tactical points are how many times a unit can be activated during each round and there are five actions that can be taken during the Action Phase: move units, retreat, run, engage in an assault, or shoot at an enemy target.

Once one of your units comes into contact with an enemy, it can make its attack roll. The number of dice that are rolled is indicated by the shoot value of the weapon. For example, a plasma pistol has a shoot value of three so three dice are rolled. After you decide what unit you are attacking, the opposing player rolls for defense, subtracting one hit for each shield rolled. The remaining damage is calculated against the unit’s stamina, and if it exceeds, the model is removed from play. Also, you can trigger a critical effect by rolling a critical hit during your attack. These critical effects can turn the tide of battle by adding dice to your attack or subtracting tactical points from your target.

Granted, the price for this boxed set may be steep for some at $150, but you do get a lot for the price. Included in the boxed set are complete rules, along with markers, dice, and heavy-duty, double-sided board game tokens. These pieces can be assembled in a variety of ways so the players can reenact six scenarios that are included with the core rules. But, the shining star of this set are the miniatures, and this boxed set is literally bursting at the seams with 39 miniatures, including 30 legion tactical space marines, five terminators, one dreadnaught, one dark apostle, and a captain in terminator armor. And the best part is that you can use these miniatures in other Warhammer 40,000 games. This set features enough models to assemble a squad and have you on your way to a 1000-point army usable in a future game.

The miniatures themselves are amazing as the detail is on par with the other products offered by Games Workshop. You can also assemble the miniatures the way you want, equipping them with various weapons (including heavy bolters and missile launchers). If you are inexperienced with assembling these miniatures, don’t fret — there are step-by-step instructions to get you started. In my personal experience, I have assembled miniatures before and erected these models with ease. Also, the amount of detail on these plastic miniatures is staggering, as you can paint them up as the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers. However, you’re not required to paint them as these specific chapters — if you want to paint them up as Dark Templar or Crimson Fists, have at it!

The only fault that I have is there are only six scenarios that are crafted for this boxed set. If you wanted to play beyond the included scenarios, you’ll have to bide your time for an expansion to surface or create your own battles in Warhammer 40,000 universe.

With tons of miniatures and a great set of easy-to-learn rules, Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth is a great way to leap into the Warhammer 40,000 universe. For more information about this and other products head over to www.gamesworkshop.com and get ready to fight for the emperor!