What should you buy after the 11th Edition Starter Set?
Pick the army you enjoyed painting more and add to it. The Ork side of the Starter Set has 33 models and the Space Marine side 13, so a Marine army starts with fewer models.
The extra units in the bigger Armageddon box are a guide to what to add, since Games Workshop packed them with each army there.
What the two Starter Set armies hold
The Starter Set holds the same two Combat Patrols as the Getting Started boxes, according to Games Workshop. The counts below come from those listings.
| Army | Models | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Space Marines Assault Force | 13 | Captain with Relic Shield, Librarian, 5 Intercessors, 5 Vanguard Veterans, Land Speeder |
| Ork ’Ardmob | 33 | Warboss, Weirdboy, 20 Boyz, 10 Gretchin, Wartrakk |
The box is £126.40 (RRP £160.00) and is in stock.
What the Armageddon box adds to each army
The Armageddon unit list repeats everything above and adds more.
- Space Marines, 10 more models: a Chaplain with Jump Pack, an Ancient, five more Intercessors and three Eradicators with Heavy Bolters.
- Orks, 5 more models: a Bigboss, a Bannernob, a Painboy, a Grot and a Big Mek Dakkarig.
We list some of these as separate kits. Read each listing's contents and photos first, because a stand-alone kit and the version in a launch box can differ.
Which army to add to first
Playing alone, add to the army you enjoyed painting more. If two of you share the box, each buy for your own side.
- Space Marines. The 13 models include a Land Speeder, the only vehicle. A second squad of Intercessors is also on Armageddon's own list, and the Intercessors kit is sold out at the moment.
- Orks. This is the bigger side, with 33 models, 20 of them Boyz. The Wartrakk is its only vehicle, so a character or a second vehicle would add something different. The Painboy is sold out at the moment and the Big Mek Dakkarig is in stock; both are on Armageddon's list.
Playing bigger than Combat Patrol
Games Workshop describes a Combat Patrol as the core of a faction, so these models carry on into larger games.
Larger games need points, the numbers that size an army. Unit points are in the Warhammer 40,000 app and in an online Munitorum Field Manual, which is Games Workshop's list of them.
Faction Packs for the new edition came out in June 2026: Space Marines on 8 June, and non-human armies, including Orks, on 9 June. A Faction Pack lists the detachments, the sets of army rules, that a faction may use until its full Codex (army book) is released. If a Codex has come out for your army since, use that instead.
What to skip for now
- The Armageddon box. It adds the 15 models above and some books and cards. Buy the ones we list as kits if you want them, or buy the box only if you want the extra books and cards. Is the Armageddon box a good first purchase? has the comparison.
- A second Starter Set. It repeats the same two armies.
Common questions
Should I buy the Armageddon box after the 11th Edition Starter Set?
Usually not. It holds everything in the Starter Set's two armies, plus 15 more models and some books and cards. If you want only the extras, buy the ones we list as kits. The Armageddon box is sold out at the moment.
How many models come in the Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set?
46 by our count: 13 Space Marines and 33 Orks. Games Workshop says the Starter Set holds the same two Combat Patrols as the Getting Started boxes, and those listings give the counts.
What paints do I need for the Starter Set armies?
The Starter Set has no paints, so you need some. The 11th edition Paints & Tools set is sold out at the moment, and the 10th Edition one is £21.73. The 11th edition set shares seven of the eleven colours in the Space Marine Getting Started box and eight of the eleven in the Ork one.
Starter Set and Getting Started contents: Warhammer Community, 5 July 2026 and 23 July 2026. Armageddon and Getting Started unit lists: our product listings. Faction Packs: Warhammer Community, 8 and 9 June 2026. Points: Warhammer Community, 15 June 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.