Warhammer 40K: How Much Does It Cost To Actually Start Playing?
So you want to jump into the grimdark tabletop game of Warhammer 40,000 — but how much money does it cost to dive in to 40k in 2024?
Warhammer 40,000 is an expensive hobby. There’s really no two ways around that. Sure, you can get things on sale or find discounts, but you’re still going to need to spend a chunk of change if you want to play. But how much do you actually need to spend to start playing Warhammer 40,000 in 2024? At this point, I don’t know! So let’s do some math and find out. But first let’s set the stage.
Now, I’m going to assume you’ve got the basics: dice, a ruler/tape measure/rangefinder, and a place to actually play the game. I’m also going to skip over the hobby steps — so we’re not adding in supplies like glue, paint, or hobby tools. We’re also going to skip terrain as a cost (although as you progress in your hobby life maybe consider it for later). We’re just going to look at how much it costs to start an army and start playing Warhammer 40,000.
What You DON’T Need
Before we continue I want to touch on some of things you don’t need to buy. At least not initially.
- Core Rules – these are available online for free as a download or just as a quick reference. Same with the FAQs.
- Codexes – Depending on your army you might still have an Index available. But these are being replaced/updated overtime.
- Combat Patrol Rules – These are also free to download direct from GW.
You may want to get the fancy physical copies of things later, but again, this is for people looking to dive in as fast and as cost-effective as possible.
Starting Warhammer 40,000
Still with me with those set parameters? Good. So one last thing: How do we define “start playing” Warhammer 40,000? Because with the various game modes and side games you could make a case for a lot of different variations. So let’s just tackle that really quick.
Combat Patrol
Combat Patrol IS the fastest route to start actually playing games of Warhammer 40,000. Now, this is it’s own sub-set of 40k but it’s still (mostly) the same mechanics. But you are playing 40k when you play Combat Patrol.
The missions are also free for download, too. So if you’re brand new I’d recommend starting here. So how much do you need to spend get into this mode?
On the US Warhammer site the new Combat Patrol Boxes are $168. You can pick these up in stores or order them. You’d still have to pay for taxes/shipping — but there you go. If you want to start a Warhammer 40,000 Combat Patrol army then you could get in and out for $168!
Kill Team
What about Kill Team? Those are usually just a box of miniatures and you can play 40k, right? Kill Team does use less miniatures and has a lower price point to get into, but I wouldn’t consider that 40k in game play terms. Kill Team uses similar rules but there’s a lot of differences with ranges and actions. You can check those out here. While it’s easy enough to pick-up and swap between Kill Team and 40k, I don’t consider Kill Team a sub-set of the 40k rules like I would for Combat Patrol Games.
But for completeness sake, you could technically start a Kill Team for $58 — that’s the cost of the box for the Kill Team: Hand of the Archon. Hopefully you’ve got a buddy with the core book and the Kill Team Annual as well. Otherwise, you’re probably going to need to pick those up, too.
Starting Warhammer 40,000 Matched Play
Okay, now let’s talk about the real cost to play Warhammer 40,000. Putting together a 2000 point Matched Play army. When it comes to super point-dense armies there’s two (technically three) that spring to mind immediately: Imperial/Chaos Knights and Adeptus Custodes. I’m just going to focus on Imperial Knights and Adeptus Custodes.
Why Knights and Custodes? Well, Knights are by far the lowest model count army you can build. However, you can’t really play Combat Patrol with them so Adeptus Custodes is a more realistic stepping stone in my book. But, that said, let’s start with Knights.
We still have to adhere to the list building restrictions. That said, at least most of the Knights on this list are Characters — so that’s covered. We’re also going to avoid any Forge World kits. So really we can start off with a fairly simple list:
- Knight Castellan – 525
- Knight Castellan – 525
- Knight Castellan – 525
- Knight Errant – 405
- Detachment Enhancement – Revered Knight – 15 points
Total: 1995
I’m skipping some of the details but that’s a 2000 point list. So what would that cost you in terms of cold hard cash? Knight Castellans are $194 each. And the Knight Errant is $179. So that army would be $761 before taxes/shipping.
Next up, let’s see if we can build an Adeptus Custodes force for any cheaper. And thankfully, we have access to the Combat Patrol Box to save some cash. The downside is you’re going to need to buy the Codex for $60.
Let’s start with the basic Combat Patrol. That’s $168 as mentioned above — but how many points is it?
- 1x Blade Champion – 110
- 3x Allarus Custodians – 195
- 5x Custodian Guard – 225
- 5x Custodian Wardens – 250
Total: 780
780 Points for $168 — okay, that’s actually not too bad. Let’s just keep this super simple and double this with two Combat Patrols. That brings our total up to 1560. Now, let’s add Trajann Valoris (150) because he’s an Epic Hero and also a Venerable Land Raider (240) to ferry our footslogging guys around. That brings our total points to 1950. We’ve still got points left over for Detachment Enhancements — which I’m not super worried about. The point is we’ve got a legal list. So what’s the dollar amount?
- Combat Patrol x 2 = $336
- Trajann Valoris = $45
- Venerable Land Raider = $92
Total: $473
Oh and don’t for that that $60 you need to spend on the Codex, too. So the grand total is $533 before tax.
Now, is this super effective army? I don’t think so. Then again it’s Adeptus Custodes. And you never want to discount a fight against them as “easy.”
This list will get you playing 2000 point Matched Play games. Just don’t expect to take home the gold in your next tournament with it. Unless that gold happens to be your army because you’re playing Adeptus Custodes and that’s just how you painted them.
I think you can understand now why those Battleforce Deals are so popular. Those are some of the best ways to get a Warhammer 40,000 army started for “cheap” relative to buying each of these kits individually.
Set Those Hobby Expectations
If you’re looking to start a new Warhammer 40,000 army in 2024 be prepared for the cost. My honest recommendation is to plan for it to probably cost you anywhere from $600-$1000. And that’s crazy when you spell it out like that. Are there ways to get into the game cheaper than that? Absolutely! Getting stuff second hand, trading, and just hunting for deals are all ways to cut your dollar-cost down. But that doesn’t account for the time you’re going to spend.
But it’s also unrealistic in 2024 to look at that price and not think about the “hobby boogie man” that is 3D printing. Is that an option? I don’t think it is for everyone but it’s still a thing that does exist. But I’m not here to comment on 3D printing. I’m just looking at the cost to start a new Warhammer 40,000 army for Adeptus Custodes and kicking myself for not doing it like…4 years ago.
Anyone know the cost to build a time machine? We could save TONS of money then.
What’s the cheapest legal way you’ve built an army in 2024?
