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For the [[Age of Sigmar]] equivalent, see [[Vanguard Boxes]].
For the [[Age of Sigmar]] equivalent, see [[Vanguard Boxes]].


=== The boxes themselves ===
After the introduction of the [[Boarding Actions]] mode in the [[Arks of Omen]] supplement, [[Boarding Patrol Boxes]] were also released to support the format.
 
With the release of 10th edition, these boxes have become an actual part of gameplay, as "Combat Patrol" changed its meaning from "games played at 500 points" to "Games where you're allowed to play the contents of one Combat Patrol box"
 
== The Boxes Themselves ==


{| class="sortable wikitable"
{| class="sortable wikitable"
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| $$$
| $$$
| ???
| ???
| All models except for the Rhino are '''monopose'''. Sisters players, please share your opinions here.
| All models except for the Rhino are '''monopose'''. This is in many ways a remake of the 2019 Sisters of Battle Army Set, their first set and first models in plastic in years, which may go to explain why they are monopose.
| [Image goes here]
*A mixed bag. Compared to the other Start Collecting Boxes it ''works'', but there's lots of peculiarity.
*Repentia are in a squad of 4, which is frankly laughable given their frailty, you'll want to get a few more to pad them out.
*Equally the one Penitent Engine, whilst definitely being useful as a heavy hitter, is a bit weird placed next to what the others get.
*Biggest issue is scaling it up into a larger army though, as you'll have to buy boxes upon boxes of regular Battle Sisters to get even close to functional before you can even consider getting anything more fun, as this is a very Elite-heavy box.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Adepta Sororitas.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Adeptus Custodes]]'''
| 5 Custodian Guards, 10 Sisters of Silence, 3 Vertus Praetors
| $$$
| ???
| Custodes players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Custodes.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Adeptus Mechanicus]]'''
| '''[[Adeptus Mechanicus]]'''
| 1 Tech-Priest Enginseer, 10 Skitarii Rangers/Vanguard, 3 Kataphron Breachers/Destroyers, 1 Onager Dunecrawler  
| 1 Tech-Priest Enginseer, 10 Skitarii Rangers/Vanguard, 3 Kataphron Breachers/Destroyers, 1 Onager Dunecrawler  
| Kit: 85/140/170 (GBP/USD/CAD) vs. 107/177/215 (GBP/USD/CAD, ''not including the Enginseer!'')
| ???
| It's a big reshuffle of AdMech units that's honestly all over the place, since a lot of these units have differing synergies; if you want to "Start Collecting," it's not a terrible choice, but if you're using this as the starting-point for an army, you're going to want to have a plan ahead for how you'll use the models, especially since the Armies of Renown that buffs the Kataphrons or Skitarii block each other out.
*Kataphrons have that sweet toughness 5, and carry a lot of firepower for troops, but lack support since they're SERVITORS and do not have the CORE keyword; they're also a fire magnet, so for larger games, you will need to buy more Kataphrons, as otherwise, those 3 Kataphrons are going to be dead turn 1.
*The Skitarii and the Onager are 2/3 of the original Start Collecting Kit, which was really good value for its price in the pre-price-hikes, but its value was being able to buy 2, or even 3, of those boxes and having a very potent 8E anvil. Nowadays in 9E, the Onager isn't your only option for heavy weapons anymore. If these guys are all you want, '''buy them individually'''.
*The enginseer seems to be thrown in as an after-thought to make the box ''seem'' better by giving you an overinflated HQ option that would have otherwise costed you 20/30/33 in pounds/dollars, but is pretty much outclassed by any other HQ option you could take; in fact, taking a Dominus or Manipulus lets you take the Enginseer without needing to spend another HQ slot. You could try converting the Enginseer into a Skitarii Marshall with the extra Skitarii bits, though. 
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Adeptus Mechanicus.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Eldar|Aeldari]]'''
| 1 Farseer, 10 Defender/Storm Guardians, 6 Windriders, 1 Wraithlord
| ???
| Absolutely
| It's a bang for your buck, weighing in at $150 for around $300 of "value". Bare in mind that [[GW]] [[Bullshit|MSRP]] is always BS for the product you're getting, but 50% off is hilariously good, even with inflated prices. None of the units included are bad, though depending on what you want out of the Eldar, you might want to make a replacement or two. It's very vanilla, i.e. good for expanding on, but comes up a bit lacking, including a Wraithlord instead of, say, dire avengers is something that works better for GW's perceived tactic of "We need something gigantic to attract new people." If you want to play Eldar, it's a nice starting point.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Aeldari.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Imperial Guard|Astra Militarum]]'''
| 1 Cadian Command Squad, 20 Cadian Shock Troops, 1 Sentinel, 2 Field Ordnance Batteries
| $$$
| $$$
| ???
| Good
| AdMech players, please share your opinions here.
| Yes it's the exact same as the prerelease boxed set, only without the Codex inside.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Astra Militarum.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Black Templars]]'''
| '''[[Black Templars]]'''
Line 32: Line 64:
| Good
| Good
| Very similar to the Army Set, ditching the Dreadnought and the Emperor's Champion for some Intercessors, a transport for them and an upgrade sprue.
| Very similar to the Army Set, ditching the Dreadnought and the Emperor's Champion for some Intercessors, a transport for them and an upgrade sprue.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Black Templars.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Blood Angels]]'''
| '''[[Blood Angels]]'''
Line 39: Line 71:
| Good
| Good
| The Blood Angels' take on the Combat Patrol is actually a decent showing! While the Impulsor and Aggressors have been nerfed, they're still solid units. While the split between Incursors and Intercessors is odd, they're both solid units. the Intercessors are better shooters while the Incursors (who can also be built as the supportive Infiltrators) are better jacks of all trades units that deny cover and can decently get to objectives, while not entirely sucking in melee.
| The Blood Angels' take on the Combat Patrol is actually a decent showing! While the Impulsor and Aggressors have been nerfed, they're still solid units. While the split between Incursors and Intercessors is odd, they're both solid units. the Intercessors are better shooters while the Incursors (who can also be built as the supportive Infiltrators) are better jacks of all trades units that deny cover and can decently get to objectives, while not entirely sucking in melee.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Blood Angels.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Chaos Daemons]]''' (technically is a [[Khorne]] box but shhh)
| 1 Bloodmaster, 20 Bloodletters, 10 Flesh Hounds, 3 Bloodcrushers
| $$
| Good
| Khorne players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Chaos Daemons.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Chaos Space Marines]]'''
| 1 Dark Apostle, 2 Dark Disciples, 10 Chaos Space Marines, 1 Helbrute, 5 Havocs
| $$
| ''Very'' Good
| The Gods have finally bestowed its loyal followers with a good starter box after 2 very chaff-heavy CP’s, one of which is actually illegal to bring fully. Legionnaires alone have a shitton of options in their multipose boxset, and that’s combined with heavy gunners such as the Havocs and the Helbrute who can be kitted out any way you want. Even the monoposed Dark Apostle can be used as a Sorceror or Chaos Lord with enough finesse as well as counting his acolytes as Cultists. If you can also get your hands on the old Start Collecting box from 8th edition, you will have yourself a solid Chaos Marines army.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Chaos Space Marines.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Dark Angels]]'''
| '''[[Dark Angels]]'''
Line 46: Line 92:
| ???
| ???
| Dark Angels players, please share your opinions here.
| Dark Angels players, please share your opinions here.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Dark Angels.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Death Guard]]'''
| '''[[Death Guard]]'''
Line 53: Line 99:
| Good
| Good
| Okay, WOW. The Death Guard Combat Patrol goes HARD on Poxwalkers, when they probably could have used a bit less of those. Plague Marines are still a core to a Death Guard army, Typhus got BUFFED, and the Biologis Putrifier is still a potent grenadier. They could have cooled it on the Poxwalkers, though.
| Okay, WOW. The Death Guard Combat Patrol goes HARD on Poxwalkers, when they probably could have used a bit less of those. Plague Marines are still a core to a Death Guard army, Typhus got BUFFED, and the Biologis Putrifier is still a potent grenadier. They could have cooled it on the Poxwalkers, though.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Death Guard.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Deathwatch]]'''
| '''[[Deathwatch]]'''
Line 60: Line 106:
| Good
| Good
| While Aggressors are nowhere near as good as they once were, they're still sturdy enough option for a person's first Deathwatch Army. Intercessors remain an ever great option for the Deathwatch, Apothecaries only got better and the Lieutenant isn't the worst but doesn't synergize with the rest of the ranged forces.
| While Aggressors are nowhere near as good as they once were, they're still sturdy enough option for a person's first Deathwatch Army. Intercessors remain an ever great option for the Deathwatch, Apothecaries only got better and the Lieutenant isn't the worst but doesn't synergize with the rest of the ranged forces.
| [Image goes here]
At the very least it includes two DW sprue upgrades, which is good, considering how expensive can fitting every mini with DW pauldrons be. Two sprues will include twenty regular shoulderpads and [[fail|just four terminator sized pauldrons]]. That means that you will have left eight  regular pauldrons and one terminator sized one, which will mean you'll still need to buy another sprue if you buy any other box outside a 5-mini one with regular marines.
 
DW players could also check any other marine box, and just buy the sprues to upgrade them (perfect for the Dark Angels box, especially if you already have DW pauldrons, considering the dreadnought castle strategy of late).
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Deathwatch.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Drukhari]]'''
| '''[[Drukhari]]'''
Line 67: Line 116:
| ???
| ???
| Dark Eldar players, please share your opinions here.
| Dark Eldar players, please share your opinions here.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Dark Eldar.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Genestealer Cult|Genestealer Cults]]'''
| 1 Magus, 20 Neophyte Hybrids, 5 Acolyte Hybrids/Hybrid Metamorphs, 5 Aberrants, 1 Goliath Truck/Rockgrinder
| $$$
| Great
| Genestealer players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Genestealers.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Grey Knights]]'''
| '''[[Grey Knights]]'''
| 1 Terminator Librarian, 5-men Strike/Interceptor/Purifier/Purgation Squad, 5 Terminators/Paladins, 1 Nemesis Dreadknight
| 1 Terminator Librarian, 5-men Strike/Interceptor/Purifier/Purgation Squad, 5 Terminators/Paladins, 1 Nemesis Dreadknight
| ???
| ???
| Good, as a starting point, or if you need all of the models. Otherwise, just buy the individual boxes.
| Do you like conversions? If so, this might be the box for you, since everything in this box can be converted to whatever you need.
*For example, those Terminators come with everything you need to convert them to HQs or Paladins, because your mileage may vary playing them as Grey Knight Terminators. Terminators are notably expensive, points-wise, with one squad being worth nearly twice more than Strike Squads, for only 1.5x more wounds and the same offensive stats. They're the "filler" of this box.
*The Dreadknight is a fugly model, but is the closest the GK have to an autotake, as it can fit in ''any'' GK list as a Grandmaster, or as Heavy Support.
*The Strike Squad is also one of the most flexible kits in 40k, giving you options to kit them out for any role. Is this box worth it if you already have GK models? Not really, you're better off buying the models you need separately, but it's definitely worth it if you're planning on start a GK army.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Grey Knights.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Leagues of Votann]]'''
| 1 Ûthar the Destined/Kâhl, 10 Hearthkyn Warriors, 3 Hernkyn Pioneers, 5 Chtonian Berserks
| ???
| ???
| Grey Knights players, please share your opinions here.
| ???
| [Image goes here]
| Leagues of Votann players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Leagues of Votann.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Orks]]'''
| '''[[Orks]]'''
Line 81: Line 147:
| ???
| ???
| <span style='color:green'>'''Prayz Mork da deffkoptas not pewtah.'''</span> (They're new plastic molds, don't worry) All models except for the Deff Dread are '''monopose'''.
| <span style='color:green'>'''Prayz Mork da deffkoptas not pewtah.'''</span> (They're new plastic molds, don't worry) All models except for the Deff Dread are '''monopose'''.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Orks.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Necrons]]'''
| '''[[Necrons]]'''
| 1 Necron Overlord, 10 Necron Deathmarks/Immortals, 3 Tomb Blades, 1 Doom Scythe/Night Scythe  
| 1 Necron Overlord, 10 Necron Deathmarks/Immortals, 3 Tomb Blades, 1 Doom Scythe/Night Scythe  
| $$$
| $$$
| ???
| Good as an expansion, fine otherwise.
| These are strong units with several configuration options, but they don't synergize very well by themselves and the Night Scythe has no business being in a small game.  Best approached as the core of a larger army, or swap the flyer for some tough infantry like warriors or lychguard.
| These are strong units with several configuration options, but they don't synergize very well by themselves and the Night Scythe has no business being in a small game.  Best approached as an expansion to the Indomitus/Starter Boxes you get when beginning the game. You’ll get a good amount of Warriors, Immortals, and even HQs; and you only need a few more specific units to have a good army on your own.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Necrons.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Space Marines]]'''
| '''[[Space Marines]]'''
| 1 Primaris Lieutenant in Phobos Armour, 10 Infiltrators, 3 Suppressors, 3 Eliminators, 1 Impulsor
| 1 Primaris Lieutenant in Phobos Armour, 10 Infiltrators, 3 Suppressors, 3 Eliminators, 1 Impulsor
| $$$
| £79.5/107€/$135/156.50$CAD/216$AUS/247$NZ (This is assuming that the price of Phobos Lt.= Reiver Lt./Suppressors = Eliminators or Inceptors)
| ???
| Good if you want to play fluffy Raven Guard, Vanguard Spearheads, or merely supplement your army with some Phobos armour.
| Primaris marines are the default now, it seems. All models except for the Impulsor are '''monopose'''. Currently the only way to get Suppressors new. Marine players, please share your opinions here.
| Primaris marines are the default now, it seems. All models except for the Impulsor are '''monopose'''. Currently the only way to get Suppressors, a Phobos Lieutenant (the Reiver Lieutenant is a separate Datasheet), and a Helix Gauntlet Infiltrator (which isn't a part of the multipart Infiltator/Incursor kit. That is until they release the upgrade kit for said kit bound in Kill Team: Moroch).
| [Image goes here]
 
Raven Guard eat your heart out; everything besides the Suppressors, the [[derp|Lieutenant]], and the Impulsor can Infiltrate.
*With the gutting of the Bodyguard rule Eliminators are once again somewhat a threat to Characters, while the Infiltrators, though expensive, provide a large area of deep strike denial while being difficult to shift in cover with their smoke grenades.
*The Lieutenant continues to be a schizophrenic mix of Infiltrator, Incursor, and Reiver, who either needs to deep strike after the former two, or perform vaguely different when amongst the latter, though he is a surprisingly good potential recipient for relics like Ex Tenebris.
*The Suppressors prevent target units hit by them from firing Overwatch, meaning any eventual Charges you might do are less prone to flaming death.
*The Impulsor is a Rhino turned floating Flatbed Truck with less capacity, not really all that useful when half the box can infiltrate, but as a partybus for any other non-Gravis, non-Jumppack footsloggers you might get down the line it'll do half-decently.
 
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Space Marines.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Space Wolves]]'''
| '''[[Space Wolves]]'''
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| $$$
| $$$
| Goood
| Goood
| Intercessors and Invictors are good workhorses for any Marine army, much less one as versatile as the Space Wolves, the Hounds of Morkai aren't that good (and neither are their base unit) but they could be worse. A Primaris Lieutenant with a power weapon and bolter is rare, so this can be nifty.
| Intercessors and Invictors are good workhorses for any Marine army, much less one as versatile as the Space Wolves, the Hounds of Morkai aren't that good (and neither are their base unit) but they could be worse. You could also use them as infiltrators, since both are phobos primaris, and as infiltrators they are WAYYYY more useful. A Primaris Lieutenant with a power weapon and bolter is rare, so this can be nifty.
| [Image goes here]
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Space Wolves.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Tau Empire|T'au Empire]]'''
| 1 Ethereal, 1 Cadre Fireblade, 10 Fire Warriors, 3 XV25 Stealth Battlesuits, 1 XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit
| ???
| ???
| Tau players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Tau.jpg|150px]]
|-
|-
| '''[[Thousand Sons]]'''
| '''[[Thousand Sons]]'''
| 1 Infernal Master, 5 Scarab Occult Terminators, 20 Tzaangors
| 1 Infernal Master, 5 Scarab Occult Terminators, 20 Tzaangors
| $$
| no savings
| Bad
| ''' Very Bad'''
| Perhaps the first notably bad deal, this box is almost the same thing you get from Hexfire except with extra Tzaangors and notably no Rubric Marines. Since Tzaangors are not <Core> and are limited by the amount of rubric units you field, it seems almost baffling to include this many in an army dedicated to sorcery or dust-filled automatons. If you are already dedicated to the Thousand Sons, have purchased the Start Collecting box years ago, or already pre-ordered Hexfire, then this box will just be redundant.
| Perhaps the first notably bad deal, this box is almost the same thing you get from Hexfire except with extra Tzaangors and notably no Rubric Marines. Since Tzaangors are not <Core> and are limited by the amount of rubric units you field, it seems almost baffling to include this many in an army dedicated to sorcery, and carried by dust-filled automatons that will never flee, unlike the 20-strong Tzaangor squad that will rout if your opponent looks at them funny. If you are already dedicated to the Thousand Sons, have purchased the Start Collecting box years ago, or already pre-ordered Hexfire, then this box will just be redundant.
| [Image goes here]
*With the addition of the Warpmeld Pact regiment of renown in the Warzone Nachmund books, this goes from being absolutely garbage to something more...useless. You're not very well off, as you lose your universal 5++ Invuln Save, while the Rubrics are limited in what they can do. Even if you wanted to run it, the Hexfire box would suffice better with the Shaman included.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Thousand Sons.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[Tyranids]]'''
| 1 Hive Tyrant/Swarmlord, 36 Termagants, 3 Ripper Swarms, 3 Warriors
| ???
| ???
| GEE THAT'S A LOT OF TERMAGANTS. Tyranid players, please share your opinions here.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-Tyranids.jpg|150px]]
|-
| '''[[World Eaters]]'''
| 1 Lord Invocatus/Lord on Juggernaut, 20 Khorne Berserkers, 10 Jakhals
| ???
| '''Very Good'''
| What a box. After witnessing the amount of Tzaangors and Poxwalkers in their respective Patrol boxes, World Eaters players were worried about getting flooded with Jakhals in a similar manner, or getting an decade old helbrute or dinobot as filler. Turns out someone at GW might have a soft spot for our favourite lunatics as the set is composed entirely of new kits.
*The Juggerlord kit is a trove of bits and savvy collectors could build both options by copying the torso.
*Berzerkers; there's 20 of them, which makes this box so damn good. While doubling up on melee weapons seems to be a thing of the past the alleged stats paint a gory picture of blood and suffering in the future.
*The Jakhals are akin to Tzaangors and Poxwalkers, a chaff unit cultist variant that serve as either action monkeys, tarpits, and/or general annoyance.
Overall a good start for new followers of Khorne or a nice bundle of fresh meat for well established headtakers. Doubling up on this box is also feasible since World Eaters specifically allows double dipping on Lords.
| [[File:Combat Patrol-World Eaters.jpg|150px]]
|-
|}
|}



Latest revision as of 11:12, 20 June 2023

Combat Patrol Boxes are GW's replacement for the Start Collecting! boxes for 40K. They are more expensive but contain more units, and at least in theory contain everything you need for a 500pt army.

For the Age of Sigmar equivalent, see Vanguard Boxes.

After the introduction of the Boarding Actions mode in the Arks of Omen supplement, Boarding Patrol Boxes were also released to support the format.

With the release of 10th edition, these boxes have become an actual part of gameplay, as "Combat Patrol" changed its meaning from "games played at 500 points" to "Games where you're allowed to play the contents of one Combat Patrol box"

The Boxes Themselves[edit]

Name Contents Savings (compared to the kits sold separately) Deal? Notes Image
Adepta Sororitas 1 Canoness, 1 Rhino, 1 Repentia Superior, 1 Penitent Engine, 3 Arco-flagellants, 4 Sisters Repentia, 5 Seraphim, 10 Battle Sisters $$$ ??? All models except for the Rhino are monopose. This is in many ways a remake of the 2019 Sisters of Battle Army Set, their first set and first models in plastic in years, which may go to explain why they are monopose.
  • A mixed bag. Compared to the other Start Collecting Boxes it works, but there's lots of peculiarity.
  • Repentia are in a squad of 4, which is frankly laughable given their frailty, you'll want to get a few more to pad them out.
  • Equally the one Penitent Engine, whilst definitely being useful as a heavy hitter, is a bit weird placed next to what the others get.
  • Biggest issue is scaling it up into a larger army though, as you'll have to buy boxes upon boxes of regular Battle Sisters to get even close to functional before you can even consider getting anything more fun, as this is a very Elite-heavy box.
Adeptus Custodes 5 Custodian Guards, 10 Sisters of Silence, 3 Vertus Praetors $$$ ??? Custodes players, please share your opinions here.
Adeptus Mechanicus 1 Tech-Priest Enginseer, 10 Skitarii Rangers/Vanguard, 3 Kataphron Breachers/Destroyers, 1 Onager Dunecrawler Kit: 85/140/170 (GBP/USD/CAD) vs. 107/177/215 (GBP/USD/CAD, not including the Enginseer!) ??? It's a big reshuffle of AdMech units that's honestly all over the place, since a lot of these units have differing synergies; if you want to "Start Collecting," it's not a terrible choice, but if you're using this as the starting-point for an army, you're going to want to have a plan ahead for how you'll use the models, especially since the Armies of Renown that buffs the Kataphrons or Skitarii block each other out.
  • Kataphrons have that sweet toughness 5, and carry a lot of firepower for troops, but lack support since they're SERVITORS and do not have the CORE keyword; they're also a fire magnet, so for larger games, you will need to buy more Kataphrons, as otherwise, those 3 Kataphrons are going to be dead turn 1.
  • The Skitarii and the Onager are 2/3 of the original Start Collecting Kit, which was really good value for its price in the pre-price-hikes, but its value was being able to buy 2, or even 3, of those boxes and having a very potent 8E anvil. Nowadays in 9E, the Onager isn't your only option for heavy weapons anymore. If these guys are all you want, buy them individually.
  • The enginseer seems to be thrown in as an after-thought to make the box seem better by giving you an overinflated HQ option that would have otherwise costed you 20/30/33 in pounds/dollars, but is pretty much outclassed by any other HQ option you could take; in fact, taking a Dominus or Manipulus lets you take the Enginseer without needing to spend another HQ slot. You could try converting the Enginseer into a Skitarii Marshall with the extra Skitarii bits, though.
Aeldari 1 Farseer, 10 Defender/Storm Guardians, 6 Windriders, 1 Wraithlord ??? Absolutely It's a bang for your buck, weighing in at $150 for around $300 of "value". Bare in mind that GW MSRP is always BS for the product you're getting, but 50% off is hilariously good, even with inflated prices. None of the units included are bad, though depending on what you want out of the Eldar, you might want to make a replacement or two. It's very vanilla, i.e. good for expanding on, but comes up a bit lacking, including a Wraithlord instead of, say, dire avengers is something that works better for GW's perceived tactic of "We need something gigantic to attract new people." If you want to play Eldar, it's a nice starting point.
Astra Militarum 1 Cadian Command Squad, 20 Cadian Shock Troops, 1 Sentinel, 2 Field Ordnance Batteries $$$ Good Yes it's the exact same as the prerelease boxed set, only without the Codex inside.
Black Templars 1 Black Templars Marshal, 5 Intercessors, 10-men Primaris Crusader Squad (4 Neophytes, 5 Initiates and a Sword Brother), 1 Impulsor, 1 Black Templars upgrades set $$$ Good Very similar to the Army Set, ditching the Dreadnought and the Emperor's Champion for some Intercessors, a transport for them and an upgrade sprue.
Blood Angels 1 Primaris Librarian, 1 Impulsor, 5 Intercessors, 5 Incursors, 3 Aggressors, 2 Blood Angels upgrade sprues $$$ Good The Blood Angels' take on the Combat Patrol is actually a decent showing! While the Impulsor and Aggressors have been nerfed, they're still solid units. While the split between Incursors and Intercessors is odd, they're both solid units. the Intercessors are better shooters while the Incursors (who can also be built as the supportive Infiltrators) are better jacks of all trades units that deny cover and can decently get to objectives, while not entirely sucking in melee.
Chaos Daemons (technically is a Khorne box but shhh) 1 Bloodmaster, 20 Bloodletters, 10 Flesh Hounds, 3 Bloodcrushers $$ Good Khorne players, please share your opinions here.
Chaos Space Marines 1 Dark Apostle, 2 Dark Disciples, 10 Chaos Space Marines, 1 Helbrute, 5 Havocs $$ Very Good The Gods have finally bestowed its loyal followers with a good starter box after 2 very chaff-heavy CP’s, one of which is actually illegal to bring fully. Legionnaires alone have a shitton of options in their multipose boxset, and that’s combined with heavy gunners such as the Havocs and the Helbrute who can be kitted out any way you want. Even the monoposed Dark Apostle can be used as a Sorceror or Chaos Lord with enough finesse as well as counting his acolytes as Cultists. If you can also get your hands on the old Start Collecting box from 8th edition, you will have yourself a solid Chaos Marines army.
Dark Angels 1 Primaris Chaplain, 3 Inceptors, 1 Redemptor Dreadnought, 5 Intercessors, 2 Dark Angels upgrade sprues $$$ ??? Dark Angels players, please share your opinions here.
Death Guard 1 Typhus, 1 Biologus Putrifier, 7 Plague Marines, 30 Poxwalkers $$$ Good Okay, WOW. The Death Guard Combat Patrol goes HARD on Poxwalkers, when they probably could have used a bit less of those. Plague Marines are still a core to a Death Guard army, Typhus got BUFFED, and the Biologis Putrifier is still a potent grenadier. They could have cooled it on the Poxwalkers, though.
Deathwatch 1 Primaris Lieutenant, 1 Primaris Apothecary, 10 Intercessors, 3 Aggressors, 2 Deathwatch upgrade sprues $$$ Good While Aggressors are nowhere near as good as they once were, they're still sturdy enough option for a person's first Deathwatch Army. Intercessors remain an ever great option for the Deathwatch, Apothecaries only got better and the Lieutenant isn't the worst but doesn't synergize with the rest of the ranged forces.

At the very least it includes two DW sprue upgrades, which is good, considering how expensive can fitting every mini with DW pauldrons be. Two sprues will include twenty regular shoulderpads and just four terminator sized pauldrons. That means that you will have left eight regular pauldrons and one terminator sized one, which will mean you'll still need to buy another sprue if you buy any other box outside a 5-mini one with regular marines.

DW players could also check any other marine box, and just buy the sprues to upgrade them (perfect for the Dark Angels box, especially if you already have DW pauldrons, considering the dreadnought castle strategy of late).

Drukhari 1 Archon, 10 Kabalite Warriors, 5 Incubi, 1 Ravager, 1 Raider $$$ ??? Dark Eldar players, please share your opinions here.
Genestealer Cults 1 Magus, 20 Neophyte Hybrids, 5 Acolyte Hybrids/Hybrid Metamorphs, 5 Aberrants, 1 Goliath Truck/Rockgrinder $$$ Great Genestealer players, please share your opinions here.
Grey Knights 1 Terminator Librarian, 5-men Strike/Interceptor/Purifier/Purgation Squad, 5 Terminators/Paladins, 1 Nemesis Dreadknight ??? Good, as a starting point, or if you need all of the models. Otherwise, just buy the individual boxes. Do you like conversions? If so, this might be the box for you, since everything in this box can be converted to whatever you need.
  • For example, those Terminators come with everything you need to convert them to HQs or Paladins, because your mileage may vary playing them as Grey Knight Terminators. Terminators are notably expensive, points-wise, with one squad being worth nearly twice more than Strike Squads, for only 1.5x more wounds and the same offensive stats. They're the "filler" of this box.
  • The Dreadknight is a fugly model, but is the closest the GK have to an autotake, as it can fit in any GK list as a Grandmaster, or as Heavy Support.
  • The Strike Squad is also one of the most flexible kits in 40k, giving you options to kit them out for any role. Is this box worth it if you already have GK models? Not really, you're better off buying the models you need separately, but it's definitely worth it if you're planning on start a GK army.
Leagues of Votann 1 Ûthar the Destined/Kâhl, 10 Hearthkyn Warriors, 3 Hernkyn Pioneers, 5 Chtonian Berserks ??? ??? Leagues of Votann players, please share your opinions here.
Orks 1 Warboss in Mega Armour, 20 Boyz, 3 Deffkoptas, 1 Deff Dread ??? ??? Prayz Mork da deffkoptas not pewtah. (They're new plastic molds, don't worry) All models except for the Deff Dread are monopose.
Necrons 1 Necron Overlord, 10 Necron Deathmarks/Immortals, 3 Tomb Blades, 1 Doom Scythe/Night Scythe $$$ Good as an expansion, fine otherwise. These are strong units with several configuration options, but they don't synergize very well by themselves and the Night Scythe has no business being in a small game. Best approached as an expansion to the Indomitus/Starter Boxes you get when beginning the game. You’ll get a good amount of Warriors, Immortals, and even HQs; and you only need a few more specific units to have a good army on your own.
Space Marines 1 Primaris Lieutenant in Phobos Armour, 10 Infiltrators, 3 Suppressors, 3 Eliminators, 1 Impulsor £79.5/107€/$135/156.50$CAD/216$AUS/247$NZ (This is assuming that the price of Phobos Lt.= Reiver Lt./Suppressors = Eliminators or Inceptors) Good if you want to play fluffy Raven Guard, Vanguard Spearheads, or merely supplement your army with some Phobos armour. Primaris marines are the default now, it seems. All models except for the Impulsor are monopose. Currently the only way to get Suppressors, a Phobos Lieutenant (the Reiver Lieutenant is a separate Datasheet), and a Helix Gauntlet Infiltrator (which isn't a part of the multipart Infiltator/Incursor kit. That is until they release the upgrade kit for said kit bound in Kill Team: Moroch).

Raven Guard eat your heart out; everything besides the Suppressors, the Lieutenant, and the Impulsor can Infiltrate.

  • With the gutting of the Bodyguard rule Eliminators are once again somewhat a threat to Characters, while the Infiltrators, though expensive, provide a large area of deep strike denial while being difficult to shift in cover with their smoke grenades.
  • The Lieutenant continues to be a schizophrenic mix of Infiltrator, Incursor, and Reiver, who either needs to deep strike after the former two, or perform vaguely different when amongst the latter, though he is a surprisingly good potential recipient for relics like Ex Tenebris.
  • The Suppressors prevent target units hit by them from firing Overwatch, meaning any eventual Charges you might do are less prone to flaming death.
  • The Impulsor is a Rhino turned floating Flatbed Truck with less capacity, not really all that useful when half the box can infiltrate, but as a partybus for any other non-Gravis, non-Jumppack footsloggers you might get down the line it'll do half-decently.
Space Wolves 1 Primaris Wolf Guard Battle Leader (axe and carbine), 5 Reivers/Hounds of Morkai, 10 Intercessors, 1 Invictor Warsuit, 2 Space Wolves upgrade sprues $$$ Goood Intercessors and Invictors are good workhorses for any Marine army, much less one as versatile as the Space Wolves, the Hounds of Morkai aren't that good (and neither are their base unit) but they could be worse. You could also use them as infiltrators, since both are phobos primaris, and as infiltrators they are WAYYYY more useful. A Primaris Lieutenant with a power weapon and bolter is rare, so this can be nifty.
T'au Empire 1 Ethereal, 1 Cadre Fireblade, 10 Fire Warriors, 3 XV25 Stealth Battlesuits, 1 XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit ??? ??? Tau players, please share your opinions here.
Thousand Sons 1 Infernal Master, 5 Scarab Occult Terminators, 20 Tzaangors no savings Very Bad Perhaps the first notably bad deal, this box is almost the same thing you get from Hexfire except with extra Tzaangors and notably no Rubric Marines. Since Tzaangors are not <Core> and are limited by the amount of rubric units you field, it seems almost baffling to include this many in an army dedicated to sorcery, and carried by dust-filled automatons that will never flee, unlike the 20-strong Tzaangor squad that will rout if your opponent looks at them funny. If you are already dedicated to the Thousand Sons, have purchased the Start Collecting box years ago, or already pre-ordered Hexfire, then this box will just be redundant.
  • With the addition of the Warpmeld Pact regiment of renown in the Warzone Nachmund books, this goes from being absolutely garbage to something more...useless. You're not very well off, as you lose your universal 5++ Invuln Save, while the Rubrics are limited in what they can do. Even if you wanted to run it, the Hexfire box would suffice better with the Shaman included.
Tyranids 1 Hive Tyrant/Swarmlord, 36 Termagants, 3 Ripper Swarms, 3 Warriors ??? ??? GEE THAT'S A LOT OF TERMAGANTS. Tyranid players, please share your opinions here.
World Eaters 1 Lord Invocatus/Lord on Juggernaut, 20 Khorne Berserkers, 10 Jakhals ??? Very Good What a box. After witnessing the amount of Tzaangors and Poxwalkers in their respective Patrol boxes, World Eaters players were worried about getting flooded with Jakhals in a similar manner, or getting an decade old helbrute or dinobot as filler. Turns out someone at GW might have a soft spot for our favourite lunatics as the set is composed entirely of new kits.
  • The Juggerlord kit is a trove of bits and savvy collectors could build both options by copying the torso.
  • Berzerkers; there's 20 of them, which makes this box so damn good. While doubling up on melee weapons seems to be a thing of the past the alleged stats paint a gory picture of blood and suffering in the future.
  • The Jakhals are akin to Tzaangors and Poxwalkers, a chaff unit cultist variant that serve as either action monkeys, tarpits, and/or general annoyance.

Overall a good start for new followers of Khorne or a nice bundle of fresh meat for well established headtakers. Doubling up on this box is also feasible since World Eaters specifically allows double dipping on Lords.