Starter Products
We're not going to list every Starter Product and its contents on this article, instead we'll describe the different types of Starter Products. If you want more details about exactly what comes in which box for which Faction then you can find that out on the individual Faction pages (see the lefthand sidebar).
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Contents
Mk3 Battlebox
Most Factions have a Battlebox available. Mk3 Battleboxes come with a warcaster and a few warjacks, or a warlock and a few warbeasts, plus a bunch of peripheral stuff like a paper playing mat, a small rulebook (slightly out of date, because erratas have occurred since the boxes were produced), dice, etc.
The battleboxes are a very cost-effective way to try out the game because the models are priced as a loss-leader to attract new players.
On the other hand the models within the box aren't always super useful/relevant as you expand your army to 75 points and try to play competitively. Also, the warcaster/warlock that is included has been deliberately designed to be simple and easy to learn, which translates to being a bit underpowered in large games. This is more true of some Faction's battleboxes than others, so you're mileage will vary.
- Cryx: Bane Witch Agathia
- Cygnar: Major Beth Maddox
- Khador: Lord Kozlov, Viscount of Scarsgrad
- Protectorate: Malekus, The Burning Truth
- Retribution: Magister Helynna
- Mercenaries: No battlebox
- Circle: Tanith the Feral Song
- Legion: Kryssa, Conviction of Everblight
- Skorne: Beast Master Xekaar
- Trollbloods: Ragnor Skysplitter, the Runemaster
- Minions: No battlebox
- Convergence: No battlebox
- Crucible Guard: No battlebox
- Grymkin: No battlebox
- Infernals: No battlebox
Mk3 Two Player Set
The Two Player Sets come with the same contents as the Battleboxes plus a unit, for each player. As with the battleboxes, they're great value ... if you have a friend to split it with.
The Hordes Set is Trollbloods and Skorne.
The Warmachine Set is Cygnar and Cryx.
Theme Boxes
Theme Forces are integral to building an army in Mk3 Warmachine & Hordes. Quite a few Themes have box sets and they tend to work out at about 35 points.
Theme boxes are not priced very competitively and you'll only save about 10 to 15% over buying the contents individually. Also they don't include a warcaster/warlock nor any warjacks/warbeasts so you need to make more purchases before you have a viable army.
All-In-One Army Boxes
Every Faction
Every few years PP sell "All-In-One" box sets, one for each Faction (at the time of writing, 2020.02, the last time they went on sale was 2017). These sets contain a battlegroup, unit(s), and solo(s) that all together add up to a 50 point list. The battlegroup is different to the standard battlegroup you get in other starter sets.
Unfortunately when they do go on sale, they're done in limited quantities. They are priced decently, are very popular with new and old players alike, and within 3-6 months of going on the market they become hard to find. If you're a new player reading this, then fingers crossed another wave of army boxes is about to be released just in time for you to buy it.
New Faction
When a new Faction is released, they also get an All-In-One box which is a great way for veterans and new players alike to pick up the latest hotness - until stocks run out, at least.
As of the time of writing (2019.09) the latest Faction is Infernals. You can expect the Infernal All-In-One box to go out of stock around early-to-mid 2020 (based on the sales of previous Factions).
Online Retailers & 2nd hand Trades
See the Useful External Links article.
You've just finished reading one of the articles in our Introduction series. The other articles are;
- What is Warmachine and Hordes?
- What do I need to buy/borrow?
- Faction Overview
- Starter Products
- Online Retailers & Secondhand trade groups
- Cheat Sheets
Once you've finished those, you may want to check out the Basic Training series.
