Testing the Waters of 40k: Combat Patrols, Votann Choices, and a Big Death Guard Start
Maybe it’s time to give 40k a proper try
Our chat recently drifted into a very familiar hobby topic: what army do we actually want to build next? This time, though, the discussion leaned hard toward Warhammer 40,000.
The idea was simple: instead of theorycrafting forever, we could each grab a Combat Patrol and just start playing. That sounds like a pretty healthy approach, especially for a group that already knows how easy it is to get stuck in the “reading lists and comparing boxes” phase instead of actually rolling dice.
As Michał put it, Combat Patrol feels a bit like the 40k equivalent of Spearhead: a smaller, more approachable way to get models on the table and see whether a faction clicks.
Combat Patrol range on Warhammer.com
The eternal problem: cool army, tiny range
One of the first things we bumped into was the question of model range depth.
End3r pointed out that Leagues of Votann don’t exactly have a massive selection yet, which honestly makes sense — they only arrived in 2022. Looking at the store pages, the comparison was pretty funny:
- Votann: around 15 units
- Kharadron Overlords: around 16 units
- Adeptus Mechanicus: around 30 units
So yes, Votann may be cool, but if someone wants an army with lots of room to experiment, convert, and expand over time, they’re still relatively compact.
Useful links from the discussion:
That led to the very sensible advice: if we’re picking a 40k army more seriously, it might be worth choosing something that already has a lot to choose from.
We’re trying 40k, not abandoning AoS
Very important clarification from Michał: we are absolutely not dropping Age of Sigmar.
That came up immediately, because whenever a group starts talking about another system, there’s always that little moment of “wait, are we switching now?” Not really. The vibe here is much more: give 40k a shot, see how it feels, and keep AoS in our hearts where it belongs.
Fantasy still has a special place for us. We’re just open to trying another flavor of Warhammer with a lower barrier to entry than a full-size army right away.
What’s already taken?
At least at the moment, a few factions are already spoken for in our local meta:
- Paweł has Black Templars
- Michał has Death Guard
- one of our friends collects Necrons and will probably be playing with us too
So if the rest of us jump in, there’s still a lot of room left to choose something different.
That’s honestly one of the nicest points in favor of starting together: if everyone picks from a different corner of the setting, the group collection gets much more interesting very quickly.
Death Guard: starting with a proper thud
Michał also made it very clear that this isn’t just a casual “maybe someday” plan. He wants to build out a full 2000-point Death Guard army — and, in his own words, he started with a bang.
That is exactly the kind of hobby energy we love: one moment we’re discussing starter formats, and the next someone is already knee-deep in plague-ridden power armor and making long-term army plans.
There was also the classic 40k observation that, somehow, individual units can feel “super cheap” right up until the moment you realize how quickly they pile up into a full army. We all know how that goes.
The plan from here
Right now, the most likely path seems to be:
- pick factions that actually excite us,
- ideally start with Combat Patrols,
- get some games in,
- and then see who gets pulled deeper into full-size 40k armies.
For some of us, the deciding factor will be aesthetics. For others, it’ll be the breadth of the range. And for at least one member of the group, the answer is already obvious and covered in rust, filth, and Nurgle’s blessings.
Also, as every good army-selection discussion should, ours briefly descended into jokes and visual nonsense:
Which is probably the healthiest possible sign. If we’re laughing, linking store pages, comparing unit counts, and enabling each other’s purchases, then the hobby is functioning exactly as intended.
Final thoughts
So yes: we’re circling around 40k army-building, but in a very measured, very group-friendly way. No grand declarations, no dramatic system wars — just a bunch of us looking at Combat Patrols, checking what ranges have enough variety, and seeing what would be fun to collect and play together.
And if this ends with more painted armies on the table, more excuses to meet up, and Michał marching toward 2000 points of Death Guard, then honestly that sounds like a win.