TABLETOP FEATURE | WARHAMMER 40,000, AGE OF SIGMAR & HORUS HERESY
The annual Warhammer Battleforce reveal is an exercise in two competing instincts. One says a large box of miniatures is an excellent way to start an army. The other knows precisely how many unpainted miniatures are already living in the cupboard. This year’s selection certainly gives both sides plenty to argue about.
Games Workshop’s 8 November 2026 Sunday Preview lists seven Warhammer 40,000 Battleforces, six Age of Sigmar Battleforces and two Horus Heresy Battle Groups. All fifteen are set for limited-stock availability. Rather than rank them by imagined discounts, we’ve looked at what each kind of box actually offers a collector.
Warhammer 40,000: seven very different starting points
The Space Marines Indomitus Task Force is arguably the easiest box to understand as a foundation: a Captain in Terminator Armour, a Chaplain, a Redemptor Dreadnought, five Terminators, five Assault Intercessors and ten Intercessors. It has infantry for objectives, a durable armoured threat and enough character to feel like an army rather than a single unit multiplied several times.
The more specialised Marine forces tell a different story. Space Wolves: Champions of Fenris puts Logan Grimnar and Arjac Rockfist alongside fifteen Wolf Guard Terminators, making it a much narrower thematic purchase. Blood Angels: Angelus Assault Force instead pairs Commander Dante and a Jump Pack Chaplain with a Death Company Brutalis Dreadnought, three Sanguinary Guard and five Death Company Marines with Jump Packs, plus an upgrade frame. One looks like an elite character-led host; the other is clearly built for an aggressive, mobile collection.
Outside the Imperium, the selection gets particularly distinctive. Chaos Knights: Helhunt Lance contains a Knight Ruinator, which can be built as several alternative Knight variants, with four War Dog Stalkers that also have alternative builds. Chaos Space Marines: Cult of Destruction packs a Warpsmith, Defiler, Venomcrawler, two Obliterators, five Havocs and three Mutilators, a mechanical nightmare best appreciated by someone who genuinely wants daemon engines and heavy weapons.
The Orks: Armoured Blitzmob leans into a Warboss in Mega Armour, Battlewagon, Deff Dread, three Meganobz and ten Ork Boyz. It promises a different modelling experience from a horde-heavy Ork starter. And Necrons: Disciples of the Nekrosor combines the C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and Nekrosor Ammentar with three Ophydian Destroyers, a Doomstalker, ten Necron Warriors and three Scarab Swarms.
Age of Sigmar: character, cavalry or a whole lot of trouble
The Age of Sigmar choices cover markedly different army identities. Cities of Sigmar: Knights of Hammerhal includes Tahlia Vedra, a Cavalier-Marshal and ten Freeguild Cavaliers, offering a cavalry-focused core. Stormcast Eternals: Annihilation Host gathers Bastian Carthalos, a Lord-Relictor, a Lord-Celestant, three Praetors and nine Annihilators.
Chaos players get Slaves to Darkness: Legion of Damnation, led by a Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount alongside Chosen, Varanguard, Knights and Warriors. Maggotkin of Nurgle: Plaguesworn Host mixes heroes and a variety of increasingly unpleasant followers. Nighthaunt: Court of the Undying King features Nagash with spectral units; Orruk Warclans: Grunta Stampede provides two Maw-Gruntas and six Gore-gruntas. Those aren’t interchangeable purchases: one collector wants a painting centrepiece, another wants lots of troops, and another wants enormous pigs.
Horus Heresy gets two very different battle groups
The Legiones Astartes Vanguard Assault Battle Group mixes 20 Mark VI Tactical Legionaries, ten Mark VI Assault Legionaries, a Praetor, Contemptor Dreadnought, Deimos Rhino and Deimos Predator. That is a broad force to build around.
The Heavy Assault Battle Group changes the mood with twenty Mark III Tactical Legionaries, ten Breachers, five Legion Command Squad members, six Cataphractii Terminators and a Land Raider. It looks more like a blunt instrument for someone who already knows they want armoured infantry and grinding assaults.
Which one makes sense for you?
There are three questions worth asking before buying a Battleforce. First, does it contain models you would otherwise purchase, or are you paying to acquire units you don’t particularly want? Second, does it complement the army you already have, or create a stack of duplicate heroes? Third, how realistic is it that you will build and paint the contents? The answer matters more than a headline model count.
Our own tabletop coverage has grown around the experience of choosing, building and painting collections, not just photographing a box. From that perspective, a balanced starter, a character-heavy expansion and a specialist centrepiece set can all be good purchases for different people. They just cannot all be the best purchase for the same person.
UK prices and pre-order timing: what is actually confirmed?
Games Workshop says the Battleforces and Battle Groups offer savings compared with purchasing the kits separately and that availability is limited to stock. The official announcement does not provide UK prices or a complete verified discount comparison. Until those are published, any percentage saving, cost-per-model winner or definitive value ranking would be guesswork.
The Sunday Preview introduces them as the coming week’s pre-order selection, with the usual stock-limited caveat. Check the official store or retailer listing for the exact UK opening and shipping details when those appear. The right response to a limited-edition label is to verify what you want, not panic-buy an army.
Source: Games Workshop’s Sunday Preview, 8 November 2026. All model lists and availability statements are based on the official announcement. Collector suitability is our editorial analysis, not a play-tested verdict.