Have you ever found your thoughts drifting in a budget meeting while you picture the deep red you plan to brush onto a Primaris helm, the smell of acrylics already filling your nose as if the hobby desk were right beside you? The mind grabs that image, spins it forward, and soon you imagine dice clattering across a table strewn with freshly based models while your tea cools untouched.
Maybe your starter force already sits on a shelf, yet you still feel that itch to field an army that carries your story and your favourite colours into every skirmish you play. Picking the right kits gives each hobby night a clear goal you can measure in glued limbs and painted trim, and every battle becomes a tale your gaming group recalls long after the last die stops rolling.
How Many Miniatures Do You Need to Play 40K?
Most matched-play games feel balanced once you bring roughly 40-100 models to the table, a range that shifts with your chosen faction, upgrades, and points level. Small elite forces land closer to 40, while horde armies approach 100, yet every style can shine when the list includes units that look good, paint up well, and pull weight during crunch turns. Some of the standout items include:
Adeptus Custodes
Fans stop and stare when detailed and durable Custodes Adeptus miniatures line up in parade formation, every polished plate reflecting light straight into the eye. These warriors form the Emperor’s personal guard, each one taller and stronger than a standard Space Marine, which lets you run a full 2,000-point army with far fewer bodies than most factions need. Fielding a Shield-Captain with a guardian spear can feel like driving a performance car after months on a commuter bus; every move counts and every swing leaves a mark.
Low model count means you clip, file, and glue a dozen figures instead of a hundred, freeing time for careful edge highlights along each eagle motif. A block of Custodian Guard plants itself on an objective and refuses to budge, while Vertus Praetors streak 38 cm across open ground to carve into exposed back-line threats before your opponent even sets up a response. Give your Warlord the Moment Shackle relic and he ignores a failed saving throw once per battle, a small rule that often flips the outcome of a decisive charge.
Tactically, you lean on layered buffs and tight cohesion rather than the weight of the dice. Allarus Terminators can teleport behind enemy lines to delete artillery crews, then redeploy next turn thanks to Unleash the Lions. Trajann Valoris extends re-roll auras that turn every missed hit into another wound, which matters when each die represents a premium warrior. Custodian Wardens carry storm shields to spike their invulnerable saves, so they act as damage sponges while your faster units sweep flanks.
Despite a reputation for gold, the range welcomes experimentation. Start with a dark burgundy primer to deepen recess shadows, dry-brush Retributor Armour for mid-tones, then pick out edges with Liberator Gold for crisp contrast. Switch the cape interior to purple or white to match your chapter iconography if you plan to ally with Sisters of Silence, who bring psychic denial without raising the model count much. A Custodes Adeptus force rewards painters who enjoy single-figure detail while still meeting game night time limits; you spend more time planning clever moves and less time moving traffic-jam-sized model blobs.
Primaris Intercessors
Intercessors form the backbone of almost every Space Marine chapter, so no sprue goes to waste. Five sturdy models per box come with separate shoulder pads, angled thigh armour, and optional gear that you can magnetise for future rule updates. At 32 mm, they strike a balance between presence and manageable paint area; broad armour plates invite bold chapter colours, and clear lines help you master edge highlighting in just a few sessions.
On the tabletop, an Intercessor squad projects reliable bolt-rifle fire out to 60 cm while standing on two-wound profiles that shrug off stray hits. Break a squad into combat teams to hold two objectives at once, or layer a Lieutenant aura for wound re-rolls that punch above their points. Because so many codex supplements reference Intercessors, your investment remains relevant as FAQs and seasonal updates roll in, and you avoid shelf clutter from obsolete units.
Necron Warriors
Necron Warriors lend a haunting, skeletal charm that turns heads in any display case. The kits rely on ball-and-socket joints, so assembly runs quickly and flexibly, and smooth armour plates make silver dry-brush passes painless. Pop green rods into Gauss rifles, and the models glow under desk lamps without extra lighting tricks.
Their trademark rule, Reanimation Protocols, lets you roll the dice at the end of each phase to stand up fallen models, often restoring 50 % of a battered unit before the next turn begins. Pair Warriors with a Chronomancer for a 5 + invulnerable save, or march them beside a Technomancer who patches two lost bodies each round. The result is a line that seems to crumble, then suddenly reforms, forcing your opponent to spend extra turns clearing the same ground. Those extra activations swing victory points and keep you in control of mission tempo.
Ork Boyz
Ork Boyz deliver hobby freedom in a single green bundle. Each sprue overflows with unique heads, choppas, and glyph plates, meaning you can create 30 distinct personalities without resorting to kit-bashing. Slap Skin Wash over Castellan Green, dry-brush a lighter goblin hue, then add chequered clan markings, and the unit pops on the table even if you rush the process during a weekend build marathon.
In play, Boyz reward fearless movement. Push a full mob 15 cm, declare the WAAAGH! to advance and charge, then swing with up to 120 attacks that chew through elite targets by weight of numbers. Mob Rule borrows Leadership from nearby squads, so morale tests rarely break your line, and a Kustom Force Field buffs saves just enough to cross open ground. Opponents face a bristling wall of green that ties up shooty units and pins them in their deployment zone, letting your later arrivals capture distant objectives.
Paint mistakes vanish into the ramshackle aesthetic, teaching you to embrace speed and character over perfectionism. That lesson proves handy when you expand into Nobz, Squighogs, or a rumbling Battlewagon, where extra rough patches only add to the charm. A horde of Boyz brings laughter and loud dice rolls to any match, and no collection feels complete until you hear that first chorus of “WAAAGH!” across the tabletop.