Want to start exploring the worlds of Warhammer 40k, but not quite ready to commit to a £155 Starter Set? Well then the Introductory Set might be just what you’re looking for. Aimed at new players, this kit gives people 12 exclusive models, card terrain and playing surface and an intro to Warhammer 40k, along with some paints – but is it worth it’s sub £50 price tag? We take a look at the new set in our full review!

Massive thanks to Games Workshop for sending us over a copy of the Introductory Set to check out on the site. If you would like to support the site then why not pick up your copy through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

We’ve also got a full review of the new Starter Set if you want to get your teeth into a bigger set that also includes a load of brand new terrain!

We’ve also filmed a full unboxing of the new set which you can see just below or over on YouTube

But without further ado, let’s jump into the new Intro Set!

Warhammer 40k Introductory Set Unboxing and Review

Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition recent burst onto the scene with the brand new Armageddon box! That set was a Launch Box aimed at giving existing players access to 2 armies along with the new rules. But what about new players?

Up for pre order today, Games Workshop have a couple of different sets that are aimed at people new to the game (or people who want to jump into the new edition) – One of these, the Starter Set, contains 2 full Combat patrol sized armies and a whole board’s worth of scenery – but this awesome box costs £155, which is a little steep for someone who doesnt know if they like the game yet.

This is where the Introductory Set comes in. This is a £47 box designed as an intro point to people new to the hobby. Covering all aspects of the hobby – Building, Painting, Lore and Gaming – this is a one stop shop to get some experience in all these areas so you can see if this game system is for you.

For the price this is a pretty jam packed box – you get an intro book to the hobby, a paintbrush, 6 paints, a gaming mat, some card terrain and 12 miniatures.

Let’s start with the miniatures, as I think this is going to make not only new players, but also veterans give the box some interest. Inside are two coloured sprues each with 6 models on them. For the Space Marines you get 5 Intercessors and a Lieutenant, while the Orks get 5 boyz and a nob.

What’s cool about the all the models in this box is that they are all unique sculpts that are not in any of the other 40k starter sets! The 5 Intercessors are all unique, and are all different to the 5 contained in the Starter Set, meaning you can put both sets together to make a unit of 10. What’s more the Lieutenant is also a new sculpt, giving you a new character to join your Starter Set or Armageddon force.

For the Orks things get even more interesting as not only do you get a Nob with a different weapon, but you also get a couple of special weapons! The Boyz in Armageddon and the Starter Set do not have any, so this let’s you add a couple to your existing squads which is a great touch.

Like with the Starter Set these are all push fit models, but they look gorgeous when finished, and I can see a lot of Ork players wanting to pick these up to supplement their boyz!

From a paints point of view you get a selection of 6 base colours to paint up the contents of the box – you’ll probably want to add to these as you progress to adding shades and highlighting up your models, but this is a great assortment that covers both factions in the box and gives you some practice in working on models! You even get a basic brush in the set, which will be perfectly fine for painting up your first few models.

The mat is fairly basic, but perfectly fine for learning the ropes – it’s a glossy paper material and double sided with a couple of different layouts allowing you to learn a few different scenarios.

The terrain is ok, but does feel pretty flimsy – I’d have rathered this be in a sturdier cardstock rather than the very floppy material it is printed on, but does it’s job in making the battlefield more interesting by actually having things to fight over rather than it just being an empty warzone!

You’re probably going to want to upgrade this pretty soonish, and I can’t see it surviving too many sessions if you’re putting it together and taking it apart each game, but it’s better than having no terrain in the box.

You also get a measuring stick and dice in the box too, giving players everything they need to get started.

With this being more a taster of 40k rather than a full Starter Set you don’t get a full rulebook in the box. Instead you get a softback 48 page booklet that walks you through the various aspects of the Warhammer 40k hobby. Inside are full instructions to build your models, painting guides for everything in the box (using the 6 colours included), Lore and background about the Orks and Space Marines and even a couple of scenarios that take you through some of the game concepts, breaking down turns into the various phases with a guide on how to play through them.

This is not in as much detail as the Starter Set or the Core Rules, but this let’s people who have built up and painted their first models have a taster of what Warhammer 40k is and how it plays.

While this one is not aimed at everyone, I still think this is a pretty good set. The paints alone would cost £16.50 if you were to pick them up from Games Workshop, and you’re getting a brush in the set too. This puts the rest of the box at around £30, and I don’t think that’s bad for the 12 miniatures and other bits here – though I do think the flimsiness of the terrain does let it down a little bit. While you’re not going to get the new plastic terrain in a £40 box, I do think the Introductory Set would have felt a little better with some more sturdy cardstock for these componants.

At the end of the day though, this is a box aimed at people brand new to the hobby, and it’s not a massive price tag to give you everything you need to get started (as an aside, the book says to snap the parts off the sprue rather than use clippers – though personally I clipped them off to stop any of the parts from getting damaged) and the fact it has some basic terrain makes this a fuller experience than some sets people have seen in the past. With all the models in the box being unique it also makes the Starter Set a great purchase after the Introductory Set as you’ll be able to add all of these models to your growing army without having any duplicates, which we’ve sometimes had in the past with other intro boxes.

Anything that gets new blood into the hobby is a good thing, and I expect this will be a popular box given how well it goes with Armageddon and the Starter Set.

The Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set is up for pre order today and is released Saturday 25th July

Games Workshop provided Sprues & Brews with a free copy for review purposes.