What are Warhammer Tone Pro paints, and does a beginner need them?
Warhammer Tone Pro is a range of 150 paints: 30 colours, each in five numbered tones from 1 (darkest) to 5 (lightest). Games Workshop's own examples use it alongside Warhammer Colour. A beginner can start without it, because the starter sets are built on Warhammer Colour.
What Tone Pro is
Games Workshop revealed the range on Warhammer Community, its news site, on 18 September 2026. The launch also includes two new mediums and new Tone Pro dry brushes. Pre-orders opened on 10 October 2026, and Warhammer Community gave 24 October 2026 as the in-store release date.
It is a separate range with its own names, such as Ultramar Blue, Bloodtoof Red and Blackstone Void. Warhammer Colour, the March 2026 rename of Citadel Colour, is a different range.
How the 1 to 5 numbers work
| Tone | Where it sits | A Games Workshop example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The darkest tone | Shade the Ultramarines armour with Ultramar 1. |
| 2 | Dark base | Start the Ultramarines with Ultramar 2. |
| 3 | The midtone in most colours | A Blood Angels Intercessor was basecoated with Bloodtoof Red 3. |
| 4 and 5 | Highlights; 5 is the lightest | Ultramar 3, 4 and 5 highlight the same armour. Bloodtoof Red 4 and 5 highlight the red. |
With a midtone at 3, you get two paints to highlight and two to shade with. You do not have to start from 3: the Ultramarines recipe starts at 2, which makes 3 a highlight. You can also mix across colours.
Does a first army need it?
Our advice is to start with Warhammer Colour. The 11th Edition Paints & Tools set and the Orks and Space Marine paint sets hold Warhammer Colour paints, and the Getting Started boxes carry 11 paints. A first army needs a handful of colours.
Tone Pro makes more sense after your first squad, when you want smooth highlights and shadows from one colour. One Games Workshop example pairs it with Iron Hands Steel, a Warhammer Colour paint, for the metal on a Liberator. Single Warhammer Colour pots are in our paints collection.
A limited palette
Games Workshop's Ultimate Paint-off show set its contestants a limited palette of three colour groups, which is 15 pots. If you try Tone Pro, begin with one colour: its five tones.
Common questions
What are Warhammer Tone Pro paints?
A separate Games Workshop paint range that sits beside Warhammer Colour: 150 paints in 30 colours, each colour in five numbered tones from 1 (darkest) to 5 (lightest).
How does the Tone Pro 1 to 5 system work?
In most colours 3 is the midtone, with two tones to shade and two to highlight. Games Workshop starts its Ultramarines with Ultramar 2, shades with 1 and highlights with 3, 4 and 5.
Does Tone Pro replace Base, Layer and Contrast paints?
Games Workshop's articles do not say so, and the 11th Edition starter products still carry Warhammer Colour paints. Treat Tone Pro as an extra range.
Do beginners need Tone Pro paints?
Not for a first army. The Warhammer Colour paints in a starter set cover a handful of colours. Tone Pro suits a painter who wants smooth blends after a first unit.
When did Warhammer Tone Pro come out?
In stores from 24 October 2026, according to Warhammer Community. It was revealed on 18 September 2026 and pre-orders opened on 10 October 2026.
Tone Pro facts: Warhammer Community, 22 September 2026, 5 October 2026, 9 October 2026 and 20 October 2026 (The 1-5 system), and the Big Autumn Preview video of 18 September 2026. Warhammer Colour: 6 March 2026. Set contents: our product listings, read 29 October 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.