If you paint D&D miniatures and you’ve been vaguely 40K-curious for a while, this weekend might finally be the moment to do something about it. Games Workshop just announced a new wave of Warhammer 40,000 starter sets going up for pre-order this Saturday, July 12, with retail release on July 25 – and for the first time in years, the entry-level option is genuinely compelling for painters who have zero interest in competitive Warhammer. Here’s what’s in each box and which one actually makes sense for a D&D hobbyist.
The Full Lineup at a Glance
Five products make up this wave. Prices confirmed so far:
- Introductory Set – $45: 12 brand-new minis, 6 paints, card terrain, game mat, brush, dice, 48-page handbook
- Paints + Tools Set – $45: 13 paints, brush, clippers, mould line scraper (no minis)
- Getting Started Sets (Space Marines or Orks) – price TBD: Full Combat Patrol force, 11 paints, brush, texture spreader, introductory booklet
- Starter Set – ~$130: Two full Combat Patrol armies, Core Rulebook, terrain, boards, dice, rulers
- Armageddon Box – $295: 61 brand-new minis, full rules, lore book, mission decks, transfers
For D&D painters specifically, the conversation starts and ends with the first two. Let’s break them down.
The Introductory Set ($45) – The One Worth Talking About
This is the box GW hasn’t really made before: a genuine sampler that covers miniatures, painting, and a basic game in one $45 package. Inside you get a Space Marine Lieutenant, five Intercessors, an Ork Nob, and five Boyz – and here’s the part that matters – all 12 are brand-new sculpts, debuting here before they appear anywhere else. GW put their most interesting new models in the cheapest box, which is either a savvy move to get new players excited or a very good deal depending on how you look at it. Maybe both.
For a D&D painter, these minis are legitimately useful. The Space Marines read as armored paladins or sci-fi warriors and take paint beautifully. The Orks are chunky, characterful, and almost beg to be used as orc NPCs or corrupted brutes on a D&D table. The sculpt quality is excellent: push-fit, no glue needed, and designed to be beginner-friendly without sacrificing detail.
The six included paints are a curated starter selection. They’re Citadel pots rather than a full D&D-optimized palette, but they’ll get you through these specific minis. The card terrain and game mat won’t transform your hobby room, but they mean you can play a small demo game straight out of the box – useful if you have a curious friend you’ve been trying to drag into the hobby.
The 48-page handbook covers building, painting, and playing, which makes this a surprisingly complete first step into the GW ecosystem without requiring any prior knowledge.
Who this is for: D&D painters who want to try Warhammer minis without committing to an army. The $45 price point is low enough that the painting experience alone is worth it even if you never play a game of 40K.
The Paints + Tools Set ($45) – The Quiet Overachiever
No minis, but 13 Warhammer Colour paints, a brush, clippers, and a mould line scraper for $45. That’s a solid deal for anyone who already has a pile of unpainted D&D minis and just wants more paint options and a proper pair of clippers. Citadel paints work beautifully on Reaper, WizKids, and third-party D&D minis – the range is robust and widely available for touch-ups and expansions down the line.
The clippers are worth calling out specifically. Most beginners skip them and just snap minis off the sprue, which damages the plastic and creates more cleanup work. A decent pair of clippers is one of those purchases that immediately improves your results – and at this price point, getting them bundled with 13 paints is genuinely good value.
Who this is for: D&D painters who already have minis but want a paint collection boost and basic tools in one purchase.
The Getting Started Sets – For the Committed Painter
Available in Space Marines or Orks, these include a full Combat Patrol force (roughly 20+ push-fit minis), 11 paints, a brush, a texture spreader, and an introductory booklet. Pricing is TBD at time of writing but expected to land somewhere in the $55-65 range based on GW’s historical Combat Patrol pricing.
For D&D painters, the texture spreader is a nice bonus – it’s designed for Citadel Texture paints, which make basing significantly faster and easier. The paint count is better here than in the Introductory Set, and you get a lot more minis to practice on.
Who this is for: D&D painters who want to commit to one Warhammer faction and get a proper starter collection without buying armies piecemeal.
The Main Starter Set (~$130) – Only If You’re Playing
Two full Combat Patrol armies, battlefield boards, terrain, dice, rulers, the full Core Rulebook, and a Starter Set Handbook. This is the classic two-player starter box format, and it’s a good one – but it’s clearly designed for people who want to play Warhammer 40K, not just paint minis.
If you and a friend both want to get into 40K properly, this is excellent value. If you’re a solo D&D painter who just wants interesting miniatures to paint, the Introductory Set at $45 is a smarter starting point. The ~$130 price tag commits you to two armies’ worth of plastic, which is a lot of backlog if playing isn’t the goal.
The Armageddon Box ($295) – The Deep End
61 brand-new push-fit minis, the Core Rules, an Armageddon lore book, mission decks, datasheet cards, and transfers. This is the launch box for people going all in on 40K 11th Edition. If you’re already a Warhammer player, you know whether you want this. If you’re a D&D painter considering a first foray, this is not where you start.
For reference, we put together a full painting guide for a previous 40K launch set – check out our Armageddon beginner painting guide if you want a feel for what painting this style of mini actually involves before committing to a box.
What to Grab Alongside Whichever Box You Choose
The included paints will get you started, but if you want to paint these minis the easy way, a set of Contrast or Speedpaint-style one-coat paints is the move. One coat, instant shading, done. They work especially well on the deep recesses of Space Marine armor and the rough organic texture of Ork skin.
For brushes, the included starter brush does the job, but if you want noticeably better results with minimal extra spend, our Artis Opus Series S review covers the brush that every painter in every roundup keeps recommending. A size 1 and size 0 will handle everything in these boxes comfortably.
If you’re new to priming, take a look at our spray primer guide before you start. Priming is the step most beginners skip that makes the biggest difference to how paint adheres and how the finished mini looks.
The Verdict for D&D Mini Painters
The Introductory Set at $45 is the strongest entry point GW has offered in years for anyone coming from outside the Warhammer ecosystem. Brand-new sculpts, paints, terrain, and a handbook in one box at an impulse-friendly price. If you’ve been D&D painting for a while and find yourself curious about Warhammer minis, this is a low-risk way to find out whether they click for you.
If you already have minis and just want to expand your toolkit, the Paints + Tools Set is a quietly excellent deal. And if you want to go deeper, the Getting Started sets give you a full faction to work through at your own pace.
Pre-orders open Saturday, July 12. Retail release is July 25.
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