Which Warhammer 40,000 armies need the fewest models?
Imperial Knights and Adeptus Custodes are small-model-count armies, and Games Workshop's own articles say so. Space Marines need fewer than swarm armies such as Tyranids and Orks. Fewer models does not always mean a smaller bill. Three Knights come to £280.45, while the Knight Armigers box that makes a Knights Combat Patrol is £51.35.
What Games Workshop says about model counts
- Imperial Knights (18 September 2025): few Knight lances will number more than six or seven miniatures in a standard game.
- Adeptus Custodes (24 and 25 September 2026): a reduced model count for Custodes armies as a whole. No squad of Custodians can now exceed three models, before any Leaders.
- Space Marines (3 October 2023): a lower model count than swarming factions like Tyranids and Orks, so you can assemble and paint quite quickly.
The Knights line dates from the previous edition, so use it as a guide.
Which small army fits you
| You like | Look at | First buy |
|---|---|---|
| Heraldry and giant war machines | Imperial Knights. Games Workshop says the large smooth armour is good for practising brushwork and that Freeblade Knights need not share a scheme. | Knight Armigers, sold out at the moment |
| Gold armour and few figures | Adeptus Custodes; our Custodes page covers the box | Combat Patrol, sold out at the moment |
| Variety without a horde | Space Marines | One squad box, such as Assault Intercessors |
| Monsters, tanks or battlesuits | Tyranids, Astra Militarum, T'au Empire or Necrons | Pick one big kit you like the look of: a Tyranid monster, a tank or a battlesuit |
A Knights army from one box
The Eye of Terror Battalion for Imperial Knights was announced in March 2026 as a Knight Valiant with two Armiger Warglaives, or a Knight Castellan with Armiger Helverins. That is three models in a box, which shows how small these armies are. The listing is Eye of Terror Battalion: Imperial Knights, £102.70 (RRP £130.00), sold out at the moment. The other way in is the Knight Armigers at £51.35, which are sold out at the moment.
What a small army costs
Three Knights, the Questoris, the Dominus and the Destrier, come to £280.45 here. A Custodes Combat Patrol is £82.95, and one infantry box such as Assault Intercessors is £32.79. A small army has fewer models to paint, but the bill depends on the box.
Knights have a Combat Patrol of their own. When Games Workshop described the Imperial Knights Combat Patrol in September 2025 it was a pair of Armigers built from the Knight Armigers box, at £51.35 here, with rules in the Warhammer 40,000 app.
Common questions
Is an army with fewer models cheaper to start?
It depends on the box. A Custodes Combat Patrol is £82.95, and the Knights Combat Patrol (two Armigers) is £51.35. You save on the number of models to assemble and paint.
Are there low model count armies that are not Space Marines?
There are several. In a Reddit thread of players asking for exactly that, the most-liked replies named Necron C'tan with a Monolith, Tyranid monsters, an Astra Militarum tank regiment, big T'au battlesuits and Imperial Knights. Games Workshop's own wording backs Knights and Custodes.
Does a small army paint faster?
Not always. There are fewer models, but each Knight or Custodian has more surface and more detail, so the time per model can go up.
Model counts: Warhammer Community (Games Workshop's news site), 18 September 2025 (Knights), 24 and 25 September 2026 (Custodes), 3 October 2023 (Space Marines). Knights Combat Patrol: Warhammer Community, 18 September 2025. Knights battalion: Warhammer Community, 9 March 2026. Player views: Reddit r/Warhammer40k, October 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.