Games Workshop has officially opened pre-orders for its new Warhammer 40,000 starter sets. The full 11th Edition beginner lineup went live on the Warhammer store Saturday, July 11th, at around 1pm ET, and every box in the wave ships two weeks later on July 25th.
If you've been waiting for a clean jumping-on point to the tabletop side of the 41st Millennium, this is the weekend!
The lineup hasn't changed since Games Workshop revealed it in last weekend's Sunday Preview, which we broke down earlier this week. What's new is confirmed US pricing, and Spikeybits has the full rundown:
- Warhammer 40,000: Starter Set - $250: two full Combat Patrol armies (Space Marines and Orks), the Core Rulebook, a Starter Set Handbook, battlefield boards, terrain, dice, and rulers
- Getting Started: Space Marines and Getting Started: Orks - $170 each: a complete push-fit Combat Patrol force, 11 paints, a brush, a texture spreader, and a faction intro booklet
- Warhammer 40,000: Introductory Set - $77: 12 miniatures split across both factions, six paints, a playmat, card terrain, a brush, dice, and a 48-page handbook
- Space Marines: Intercessors + Paints and Orks: Boyz + Paints - $35 each: two or three models apiece with the paints to match (Ultramarines blue and Goff black, respectively)
- Warhammer 40,000: Paints + Tools - $45: 13 paints, a brush, clippers, and a mouldline remover
Don't sleep on the $77 box. All 12 of the Introductory Set's miniatures, a Space Marine Lieutenant, five Intercessors, an Ork Nob, and five Boyz, are brand-new sculpts making their first appearance in this set. The cheapest box in the wave is the only place to get them right now!
[Product shot: the full 11th Edition starter lineup (Starter Set, Getting Started boxes, Introductory Set) with prices visible]
Is it a race against the clock before something sells out? The recent track record says no.
Games Workshop has been allocating recent waves hard, capping how many copies each store can get. April's Eye of Terror boxes were limited to roughly six Defiler kits per store, with customers only able to pre-order one at a time. Even under those limits, that wave still hadn't sold out two days after pre-orders opened.
Spikeybits has been openly critical of that strategy, arguing the caps cost Games Workshop sales every month instead of creating urgency. Whatever the reasoning behind them, the allocations haven't been turning releases into instant sellouts.
Starter boxes are a different animal from a limited character kit. They're the front door to the game, and Games Workshop treats them as evergreen stock that stays in print for the life of an edition. A capped Defiler can vanish for months, but a Starter Set almost always gets restocked. That said, GW hasn't shared how deep the first print run goes, so a pre-order is still the safest way to have a box in hand on July 25th.
Your friendly local game store is the other route. Independent retailers get these boxes on the same July 25th street date, often at a small discount off Games Workshop's prices, and most will take a pre-order this weekend too.
That takes the panic out of the decision and leaves the fun part: picking a box.
If you're just curious, the $77 Introductory Set answers that question for less than a new video game. Players who already know their faction should look at the Getting Started boxes, since each one is a real Combat Patrol force you can keep using once the paint dries. Recruiting a friend? The $250 Starter Set breaks down into two complete armies at $125 a head, and it's the only box with the full Core Rulebook inside.
The timing lines up nicely for PC players too. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV hits PC on September 17th, and we just got a look at all four of its factions in the new multiplayer Battlefield Reports. Space Marines and Orks headline both that RTS and these starter boxes, so your first tabletop army can match the one you'll be commanding on screen.
The Introductory Set includes twelve sculpts you can't get anywhere else at the lowest price in the wave, so that's probably where I would start…
Are you grabbing one of these boxes this weekend, or waiting to see them on shelves July 25th? Which faction gets your first coat of paint?
Sound off in the comments below!
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