It’s become something of a trope that Games Workshop is a hoarder of ideas. Certainly, they love to hang on to good ideas, often taking decades to return to long-forgotten storylines and products. This even applies to their flagship products, such as Warhammer 40,000, now in its eleventh edition.
Big boxes for new editions have been a thing ever since the 2nd edition of the game; that initial big box pretty much launched Warhammer as a staple of Christmas presents across the UK and beyond, with the Argos catalogue listing still coming up as a topic in pretty much every relevant nostalgia-fueled retrospective we’ve ever seen. So nine editions later, why does that matter? Because 9 editions later, we have returned to the theme of that classic box; Orks versus Blood Angel Space Marines. The new box landed on our desk with a thud (thanks to GW in Nottingham for sending a copy over for review).
In the Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon box, we get a small horde of plastic models that are easy to assemble (but you’re still going to need a knife or pair of clippers to get them off the sprue). 61 models in total; 23 Space Marines and 38 Orks of varying sizes and types. Plus Two decks of boxes that both feel like their own card games that have escaped confinement. We get a cargo-pants pocket-sized rulebook, a pile of datasheets for each unit in the box and some transfer sheets so you don’t have to hand-draw numbers and logos onto the models when you paint them. No dice, which is reasonable; the game uses six-sided dice, and you absolutely have those. Fancy six-sided dice in bright colours are available separately if you need them.
Orks are the best xenos (alien) faction in the game; fun to paint, simple enough rules-wise for a new player to grasp and filled with lore that is entertaining and clever. 38 Orks are enough to start your own horde, and they break down nicely into command units, cannon fodder and heavy hitters.
Ork vehicles are meant to have a Mad Max / Wasteland look to them, and we get two of these scrappy monstrosities in the box: a War Trakk and a Big Mek DakkaRig. The Trakk is a bizarre-looking motorbike/ tractor hybrid, brimming with missiles and controlled by a crazy looking ork looking to blow up the world if it can. The DakkaRig is a walking gun platform, and is a shout-out of sorts to the old 2nd edition box, which was meant to have a similar sort of model (called a dreadnought), but GW at the time couldn’t quite make it work and instead gave us a cardboard counter. This new model isn’t cardboard, it is lovingly detailed plastic and looks totally wild (and will delight folk who like to modify their models.
The command orks (referred to hilariously as nobs) comprise of single models for the Warboss, Big Boss, Bannernob, Painboy and Weirdboy. Ork hero models have always been full of character, and each of these is very, very distinct; you’re unlikely to confuse the Weirdboy (Wizard) with the Bannernob (standard bearer). Only one of these, the Painboy (medic) comes with a adjutant model, which is a pity as Orks tend suit lots of little lackeys following the about.
Speaking of lackeys, though, we do get 10 Gretchen models. These are basically space goblins and are an essential part of any Ork army as they’re intended to soak up enemy fire. They are hilariously posed and obviously doomed. We also get 20 Boyz, the standard military unit of the Orks. Each model is an angry looking creature (that will look great painted green), toting an improbably large weapon and clearly yelling something obscene. They’re great Orks, and if you already collect these creatures (and why wouldn’t you, they are the best army), then these boyz will happily add to your collections.
The rest of the models are Blood Angel Space Marines, in the new style, which is a nice way of saying that they’re a bit taller and a bit more science fiction than the older models. For a faction that hasn’t innovated its technology in 10,000 years, they sure do seem to get regular design updates. Still, these Space Marines do fit the brief of looking like vengeful demi-gods that serve a super-horrid version of humanity.
We get one vehicle, but it’s a very nice one; Land Speeder. It’s a nice take on a classic model; the third edition of the game also had a Land Speeder in it’s launch box and this is a much better (but still recognisable) take on the vehicle. It’s essentially as armoured, flying sports car car covered in weapons and is absolutely meant to swoop in, wipe out an important enemy unit and then explode.
We also get five Vanguard Veterans; heavily armoured looking chaps sporting very big jet packs and space-aged swords, so they can swoop down with the Land Speeder and chop up the poor defenceless Orks (who are honestly just minding their own business. Though that business is invading worlds and starting fights, so fair enough.)
Our grunt units include three Eradicators armed with Heavy Bolters; basically, tall space marines with huge guns that will blow up things like walking gun platforms. They’re lovely looking models and snap together very easily.
They are assisted by ten intercessors, the basic troops. The storytelling on these models is great; their armour is a mismatch of other design types from across the galaxy. Basically, they’ve been fighting for so long that supplies are limited, and they’re now wearing the wrong sort of helmet and pauldrons. This gives them a ‘desperate eternal warrior’ vibe, which we have to admit is pretty cool.
Our command team includes a Captain, a Librarian, a Chaplain and an Ancient. The Ancient rocks a huge banner and is slightly smaller in stature than the rest of his fellows; basically, he’s been at this war stuff for a very long time. The Captain rocks a massive shield that feels like a relic from another time. The Librarian (a wizard) has a goatee and a techno-magic staff, and Chaplain ( priest/political officer) rocks a hazardous looking jet back and a massive melee weapon. Essentially, all of the leaders look like they have been fighting this one war forever, which is very in setting.
Rules wise, we’ll break it down in more detail in a seperate review, but the short version is ‘faster, flatter, more focused on terrain and missions, with a bunch of tweaks to make the game more accessible and more fun. Most gaming groups will house-rule their games to suit their resources and sense of fun anyway. Those who care about tournament rules and require strict standards will be delighted to learn that the core rule-set leans into competitive play as efficiently as it can without being too difficult for new gamers. The two-deck boxes of cards, the rule book and the unit cards make the game pretty smooth.
We also get a book called Operation Imperator, which gives us an overview of the storyline. The world of Armageddon is one of the more detailed parts of the world of Warhammer 40,000, so there’s a lot to get your teeth into. As always, this functions as a way to get inspiration for your painting and modelling projects.
The best Warhammer 40,000 box we’ve ever seen, and we’ve been watching this for a long time.
