Starting a Warhammer 40K Army

Starting a Warhammer 40K army can be daunting and overwhelming if you’re just getting into the hobby. With a large variety of factions to choose from and a complicated ruleset with FAQs and balance dataslates spread all over across various different documents not to mention the Army’s Codex it can be…a lot. This article is intended to help you with starting a Warhammer 40K army in 2025.

Choosing Your Faction

Choosing your initial faction can be a challenge especially if you’re not quite sure about your playstyle. What even is a “playstyle” anyway? With so many different factions to choose from, it’s hard to find the “right” choice when you’re just starting out. 

I highly recommend doing some research about the game before jumping right in. Talk to local Warhammer 40K players. The best place to start is within your local community. Social media makes it a luxury to find local players. Check out your FLGS as well. Find out when they host Warhammer game nights or events. Join your local community Discord or Facebook Group. Meet and talk to other players in your local area. Many of them may even be willing to offer you a deal on a nice starting set of models to get you going!

What if you can’t find a local community or there are no local FLGS in your town? Fortunately you can still join in various online communities and even experiment with armies and learn to play via Tabletop Simulator (TTS). TTS is available on Steam usually for around $20 and has plenty of online communities and resources to get virtual models on the table and learn the game quickly. These communities usually have players willing to teach newbies the ropes. TTS can also give you the option to “try before you buy” with various armies to get a feel for what type of army fits your playstyle and narrowing down what faction you should choose. 

And of course the internet itself is a great resource. There are plenty of YouTube videos that explain the game and provide background and information on all the various factions. 

The first place to start learning the game is by downloading and reading the Core Rules. They are available for free on the Warhammer Community website under the Downloads section of the site. 

I personally recommend Space Marines to all newbies as a great starting faction. Space Marines are the flagship faction of the company and as such are always supported by Games Workshop. They offer the largest player base too in terms of learning and understanding the faction. Additionally they are not a complicated army to learn and play with. But don’t let this seeming simplicity fool you. Space Marines, while simple to learn and play, can still be a potent faction at the competitive level too. 

Games Workshop offers a massive amount of Combat Patrol starter sets for their various factions and most of them are a great way to get into the game. Best of all you can play with the models straight out of the box in Combat Patrol games. Check out your local FLGS or order directly from GW online. Combat Patrols are often a great value and usually offer many of the core units you will use as you continue to build your force over time. 

Adding to your chosen faction at an affordable price 

So, you’ve talked to your local community. You’ve read over the Core Rules and have had a chance to get some learning games in and have chosen your faction to play. You’ve built and painted your Combat Patrol but now what? 

Your first step is to get your army faction Codex. This book will contain all the unit datasheets and rules you’ll need to play your army on the tabletop to include different detachments, stratagems they can use in games and enhancements you can purchase for your leaders in your army list to give them a boost. 

Again, talk to veteran players preferably those that also play your selected faction and get their recommendations for what units to add. 

The fact of the matter is that Games Workshop kits are expensive. Very expensive. The last thing you want is buyers remorse after dishing out $100 on a unit only to find out it’s not very good or you could have spent that money on other unit options.

There are ways to get models to add to your collection when starting a warhammer 40k army at a much cheaper cost. Your local community is a good place to start. People buy and sell entire armies all the time. Find out if people in your community have any models or units within your chosen faction they are willing to sell. Often these can come at a bargain price point too. You may have to do some work to strip paint and repaint them to fit your scheme but this extra work could end up saving you hundreds of dollars. Additionally you can check eBay for units to buy at a good price. 

Finally, you can check various Warhammer Facebook Buy Sell and Trade Groups. Often people are selling off entire army lots at a heavy discount or even individual units. Approach this with caution however as sometimes scammers are known to use these groups. Always purchase off of Facebook Marketplace groups using PayPal Goods and Services. This method offers protection to the buyer. Never send via Friends and Family or Cashapp or any other form of payment. Once you learn how to appropriately navigate Facebook’s marketplace Warhammer groups, you can find all kinds of great deals on armies and models. 

Hobby Tools and Paints

Once you’ve chosen your faction and purchased some models you’re going to need a few hobby tools to get started. This article includes affiliate links to products I recommend for Warhammer 40K players. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Items you will need will include the following:

• Sprue clippers – to clip off the parts from the plastic sprues
• Exacto hobby knife – great for cleaning up the parts after clipping them to get excess plastic pieces off and to trim mould lines
• Hobby glue – super glue meant to bond plastic or even hobby plastic glue to glue your pieces together
• Primer – when you get ready to paint you’re going to want to prime those models. There are a variety of primers out there but I recommend initially getting some inexpensive black spray can primer from your local hardware store or even Walmart. Priming models can be tricky and I’ll cover the basics on that in another article. Suffice to say always prime outdoors or in an extremely well ventilated area with spray can primers as the fumes can be harmful if inhaled. 
• Paint brushes – you don’t have to invest a bunch of money into paint brushes. You will need a good solid Round 1 size brush which you can get from Hobby Lobby or a similar arts and crafts store for around $10. You’ll want some cheap brushes to use for drybrushing as well. The Round 1 brush will be your workhorse brush however and you’ll use this to paint the majority of your models. 
• Paints – there are tons of paints out there to choose from. Obviously GWs Citadel brand of paints are made with the intended purpose of painting Warhammer models. I personally use Army Painter paints as they are very good quality, intended for miniature painting and are very affordable. Army Painter sells various sets of paints you can get from your local FLGS or off sites like Amazon. 
• A dedicated hobby space – painting miniatures can be…messy (as anyone who has ever spilled a bottle of Nuln Oil will tell you). It’s important to have a dedicated space where you can hobby that you aren’t afraid to “get messy.” Keep paper towels handy always to clean up spills! 

Final thoughts

Starting a Warhammer 40K army can be challenging but having the right information going in can save you a lot of time and energy. Consult your local veteran Warhammer players for tips and advice. Don’t be afraid to purchase models and kits second hand whenever possible. And don’t be afraid to dive right in! The Warhammer hobby is extensive, but it can be very rewarding.

If you’re new to the game or want to improve quickly, then don’t forget to grab my FREE eBook: Forging Your Path to Victory: A Beginner’s Guide to Competitive 40K. A great starting point for those looking to jump into Competitive 40K. Subscribe and get your free copy!

Want personalized help speeding up your 40K learning curve? My coaching program is designed to help you accelerate your learning experience and set you up for success. I’d love to help you one-on-one level up your game.

See you on the tabletop.