Space Marines usually steal the show in Horus Heresy, but the next Goonhammer Open UK is putting them on the bench. "Those Who Die" runs 23-24 May at Leicester De Montfort Students' Union and bans Astartes outright, handing the field to the mortal armies that did most of the actual dying in Horus's civil war.
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Set up your group for freeThat means 1,500-point lists drawn from the Solar Auxilia, the Imperialis Militia and the Skitarii Conclaves, with two teams clashing across four narrative missions. Goonhammer is leaning into the trench warfare flavour, with asymmetric missions evolving across the weekend to capture the body-count feel of the Heresy as fought by ordinary people in flak armour rather than Mark VI plate.
It is also a friendly entry point into a notoriously expensive game. 1,500 points is well below the usual 3,000-point Heresy standard, and mortal armies are largely affordable resin and plastic infantry kits rather than the towering Astartes character models. If you have ever fancied a crack at Heresy but balked at the buy-in, Auxilia and Militia armies for a weekend like this can be assembled for a fraction of a Legion force.
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See how it worksGoonhammer's March 2026 Open at the same venue ran smoothly with a proper awards round, so the format is well-tested. Tickets are now on sale through Eventbrite.
If you are gathering a crew to head to Leicester, find your group on Backseat Gamer before kick-off.
Sources: Goonhammer | Eventbrite | Goonhammer Open UK
