Games Workshop Show Off New Warhammer 40,000 Battleforces

Games Workshop has put together four new Battleforce bundles for those tempted to get stuck into the 11th Edition of Warhammer 40,000. These give you a character and a selection of different options that will help bulk out an army or start with a pile of potential.

Astra Militarum Platoon // Warhammer 40,000

The Astra Militarum Platoon gives you a good slice of this faction. You start with a Cadian Command Squad and a Commissar leading the way alongside a set of ten Cadian Shock Troopers. That covers the infantry side of the Astra Militarum, as the rest of the box is then bulked out by two Field Ordnance Batteries, a Basilisk and a Rogal Dorn Battle Tank.

It certainly doesn't give you a lot of the infantry that you'd need but it does start you out with a bit of everything. I don't think this one's too bad at all but as is the case with all of these, it could be an expensive way for you to work out if you like painting an army in Warhammer 40,000.

Tyranid Swarm

The second of the sets covers the Tyranid Swarm, perhaps giving those who started playing the army in 10th Edition a little boost of troops and monsters.

Tyranid Swarm // Warhammer 40,000

This set comes with a big Hive Tyrant to lead the way, who can also be built as a Swarmlord or a Hive Tyrant with Wings, depending on how you want to build your army. The core of the force is then built up of ten Hormagaunts and ten Termagants, although you will definitely want to expand those out to be twenty big so they can weather the storm of firepower from an enemy army.

The more specialist edge of the swarm comes with the addition of a Lictor and three Von Ryan's Leapers who can sneak around the flanks, completing objectives and focusing on killing key units in your enemy's army. You also get three Tyranid Warriors in the set to guard your Hive Tyrant.

Again, this gives you some fun miniatures to paint up from across the spectrum of Tyranid options available to wargamers. It's certainly a starting point if the savings end up being good enough when the prices for these are revealed.

Chaos Space Marine Warband

If you'd prefer to throw your lot in with the Ruinous Powers, then you can also pick up the Chaos Space Marine Warband.

Chaos Space Marines Warband // Warhammer 40,000

This does a decent job of reflecting what you'd expect a Chaos Warband to be like in the Grimdark of Warhammer 40,000. Your force wouldn't be just made up of power-armoured Space Marines and instead be a mix of both them and the Cultists that do all the dirty work in turning a hive city over to the dark gods.

The set is led by a Lord Discordant, which is a nice miniature in its own right, but you also get some more twisted machinery in the form of two Obliterators and a Venomcrawler. The set is then finished off by ten Legionaries who will be pointing their bolters at the back of twenty Chaos Cultists, making sure that they throw their lives on the line for the Chaos gods.

I think switching the Lord Discordant for a Dark Apostle would have fit the theme of a cult uprising a bit more but I suppose Games Workshop throw these miniatures into the boxes based on some odd metric behind the scenes.

Necron Host

Going back to 9th Edition, we also have an arisen Necron Host that you can choose as one of the Battleforce boxes.

Necron Host // Warhammer 40,000

This feels like a box that could serve as a good starting point in that it falls back on that classic two Troop and one HQ choice that a lot of us will remember from Warhammer 40,000's past. The Catacomb Command Barge drives forth your awakened Necrons which include twenty Necron Warriors and their Scarab Swarms for good measure. You also have five Flayed Ones for infiltration and stealth action behind enemy lines.

Capping the set off, you also get the Canoptek Doomstalker and three Ophydian Destroyers. Something big with a shiny gun for blasting enemy armour and some fast-moving units that can rush the enemy and slice them apart in close combat.

I think of all four of the Battleforce sets, I think the Necron one seems like the best of the bunch. I want to like the Chaos Space Marine one but I'd immediately be swapping out that Lord Discordant!

What do you think of the four Battleforces?