Warhammer 40K: Top 5 Useful Starting Army Box Deals
Looking to get started with a new army or maybe start your holiday shopping early? We’ve got some suggestions on the most useful army boxes you can get.
When it comes to the Start Collecting! boxed sets or the newer Combat Patrol boxes from Games Workshop, it’s hard to argue that they all aren’t a good value. You’re getting a pretty sweet discount on the products in the boxes regardless when you compare them to the MSRP of those kits individually. That said, some of these army boxed sets are generally more useful than others in the sense that they have units that are all useful vs some that might veer toward the shelf more than the tabletop.
With that in mind here are a few that we wouldn’t have an issue recommending to a new player or long time vet.
Start Collecting! Astra Militarum
This one ticks all the “generically useful” boxes. You’ve got a 10 man squad with a heavy weapon (which you’ll always find a use for), a Leman Russ and a Commissar. In the current meta, the only weak link in that box is the Commissar – just don’t tell them I said that! If you were getting started, three of these boxes wouldn’t be a bad investment by any means. It’s also one of the few Start Collecting! army boxes still around (and still worth picking up as a true starting point).
Start Collecting! T’au Empire
This one is highly recommended from T’au players. The 3 Battlesuits, 10 fire warriors and all those drones are great to have around. The Ethereal is okay to have but is in a similar boat to the Commissar from the AM Box. It’s the weak link, but the rest of the box is so good, it’s hard to pass this one up! And again, it’ STILL in production. You might want to grab a copy before this box gets pulled for an updated Combat Patrol at some point…
Start Collecting! Thousand Sons
If there was one Start Collecting! Box that would be considered a power-list in the making, it has to be the Thousand Sons box. Why? Because it contains Ahriman, one of the most used/feared Psykers in the game. The rest of the box is also relatively useful as Tzaangors are considered a great option for the Thousand Sons and Rubric Marines are too iconic not to include. The bad news about this box is that you really only want 1 – unless you wanted to convert Ahriman into another Sorcerer. It’s current out of stock online which isn’t surprising. But you might get lucky and spot one of these at your FLGS…
Start Collecting! Chaos Space Marines
There’s a few very good reason to get at least one copy of this box if you’re a Chaos Marine player and they all have to do with the fact that this box contains models you can only get in this box. The Venomcrawler, the Obliterators, the Master of Possession, and the Greater Possessed never got solo releases. And I’m sure you’ll find a use for 10 Chaos Space Marines. But getting a copy of this box is worth it just for the options you can’t get anywhere else.
Combat Patrol: Drukhari
We had to list at least 1 Combat Patrol box. While they are more expensive than their predecessor Start Collecting! army boxes, they are still good deals. We like the Drukhari one as it’s got a lot of solid options for starting a new army. You really can’t go wrong with a Ravager, Raider, Warriors and an Archon as a “core” for your lists. And those Incubi are no slouch either! You might not need to buy 2-3 of these, but if you snag just one you’ve got a great core to start.
Honorable Mention: Start Collecting! Daemons of Nurgle
This might be a “Warhammer: Age of Sigmar” starter, but let’s be honest – that just means you can use this set of both games. Really, that goes for ALL the Daemons of Chaos Start Collecting! Boxes. In my mind, that only increases the value. Regardless, in 40k, Plaguebearers and Nurglings are considered to be really good options for chaos in general. Plus you get a Poxbringer, too! The Plague Drones aren’t the best option – but if you were going to buy a box of Plaguebearers, a Poxbringer, and a box of Nurglings anyhow, consider the Plague Drones a bonus.
Which Start Collecting! Boxes do you have your eye on? Which ones do you consider to be the best option for starting a new army from scratch with?
