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I'm just getting back into painting after a couple of years break and wanted to start a coupe of new armies. Thinking that the battleforces would be a good place to start collecting a new force, I was stunned to see that there are just six available: Eldar, Dark Angels, Necron, Blood Angels, Demons and Tau. I am sure that this has been answered in other threads that I couldn't easily find, but where did all the others go? Are GW replacing them? What's the story?

Thanks in advance.

They got replaced by larger boxes that costs more but also saves you a lot more, And is a better way to start an army for the most part as they normaly contain a HQ.

They don't call them battleforces any more and they are more like the old army boxes in size than the battleforces.

Some facions got a battlforce not called "battleforce" these days, or joint kits of varius sizes.

For example:

IG/AM has the "Cadian/Catachan defense force" (a full battleforce) and the "armored fist" (ig squad+chimera)

CSM got the "attack force" (a big battleforce)

DE has "shardstorm" (a battleforce) and swiftshard/skysplinter (squad+raider)

GK has "nemesis vanguard" (rather big battleforce)

Orks got the mekmod (I think its a battleforce?)

SM has two different "strikeforce" (big battleforces)

SW got "warriors of the fang" (a battleforce)

Nids got "swarm" and "wrath of the hive mind" (battleforce likes)


On the plus side, many of them also include an HQ, so they actually work as a newcomer's army as well.
On the minus side, they have an HQ, so they are slightly less good for expansion (unless the HQ can double as something else, like in nid case)
Most of them also offer rather good saving, worth a squad or even more of the kit in discount.

There are the Strike Forces now. Tyranids and Space Marines just got one each, Chaos Marines have theirs. The trend I see is that they normally equal 750pts or somewhere around there, whereas the old battleforces were something like 300pts and only 1/3rd of a decent small army.

So is there a general name for them now, like "battleforce" that I can put in a search, or do I have to go army by army? Looking at all of them in one go is helpful for deciding on which army to do!

You will have to go army by army

Ah. Ok, thanks.

newest ones

Man, seeing the box almost makes me want to get the Space Marines.

Now I'm thoroughly baffled. The battleforces have essentially gone, but the WHFB battalions still exist....?

Thats because the Warhammer Fantasy armies that have Battalions, Havent been updated since GW stopped making Battlefroces. Wood Elves for example dont have a Battalion, They have the Guardians of the Deepwood box.

Ok, I think I get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

SYKOJAK wrote:
Man, seeing the box almost makes me want to get the Space Marines.

Seeing that box makes me want to punch two months ago Me in the face since I bought a Drop Pod, Razorback, Sternguards, Dreadnought(an incomplete one, at that), and Storm Talon all in that time. It is hard to say that I would have paid more, but it still stings a bit seeing basically everything I just bought all in one handy place. Also, the captain included would be a nice model to have, even though I like my one built from the Space Marine Commander set better. I could always use another Tactical Squad, even just for PA bodies and parts (I would have built half of the Tactical Squad as Sternguards and the other half as a Tactical Squad to go with five AoBR marines I have).

Still, I might have to get that boxed set anyway if I see it discounted. Short of the Razorback (I don't need ANOTHER Rhino-STC), I could find a use for just about everything in the box. I just won't pay full price for them. I would just sell the Razorback on eBay. Either way, I would be coming out ahead of what the individual items cost.

Whatever set you want to get, price it up first.
If the saving is the price of a model you aren't going to use, it's not really worth it.
I bought 3 of the older Eldar Battleforces over the past years, and haven't touched the Guardians at all. So, I could have bought the rest at normal price, but I do have a pile of Guardian sprues.

 casvalremdeikun wrote:

SYKOJAK wrote:
Man, seeing the box almost makes me want to get the Space Marines.

Seeing that box makes me want to punch two months ago Me in the face since I bought a Drop Pod, Razorback, Sternguards, Dreadnought(an incomplete one, at that), and Storm Talon all in that time. It is hard to say that I would have paid more, but it still stings a bit seeing basically everything I just bought all in one handy place. Also, the captain included would be a nice model to have, even though I like my one built from the Space Marine Commander set better. I could always use another Tactical Squad, even just for PA bodies and parts (I would have built half of the Tactical Squad as Sternguards and the other half as a Tactical Squad to go with five AoBR marines I have).

Still, I might have to get that boxed set anyway if I see it discounted. Short of the Razorback (I don't need ANOTHER Rhino-STC), I could find a use for just about everything in the box. I just won't pay full price for them. I would just sell the Razorback on eBay. Either way, I would be coming out ahead of what the individual items cost.

Seeing that box makes me realize the costs, again. I priced it out points-wise to about 785 points (with standard loadouts) and it sells for $230. For an entry-level army. If it was half that price, I'd buy it without much of a second thought but $230 just for a basic, barebones starting force? No way. It might have a discount compared to buying everything separately, but that doesn't mean the price for it is acceptable. Also compare that to the other, older box (Space Marine Strikeforce) which is $40 more and comes with an extra tactical squad and assault squad (but no Stormtalon), with a Command Squad in place of the Sternguard.

In fact just the price of the Sternguard make me angry, because they cost more than the regular guys and you get half as much for what, some fancier armor?

 Skinnereal wrote:
Whatever set you want to get, price it up first.
If the saving is the price of a model you aren't going to use, it's not really worth it.
I bought 3 of the older Eldar Battleforces over the past years, and haven't touched the Guardians at all. So, I could have bought the rest at normal price, but I do have a pile of Guardian sprues.

Incorrect, even if the saving is exactly one model you are not going to use, and you want the rest of it anyway, you should buy the "battleforce"

Even if its a bit higher, say 3$ above the price of just the things you want anyway, its still a good buy.

Because you can sell that model, even if for just a bit, in case of vehicles you can terrain with them, and at the very least you can stockpile on bits.

Or, just keep the model, you might want it in a future point anyway, if it costed nothing or near nothing, than nothing lost.

WayneTheGame wrote:

Seeing that box makes me realize the costs, again. I priced it out points-wise to about 785 points (with standard loadouts) and it sells for $230. For an entry-level army. If it was half that price, I'd buy it without much of a second thought but $230 just for a basic, barebones starting force? No way. It might have a discount compared to buying everything separately, but that doesn't mean the price for it is acceptable. Also compare that to the other, older box (Space Marine Strikeforce) which is $40 more and comes with an extra tactical squad and assault squad (but no Stormtalon), with a Command Squad in place of the Sternguard.

In fact just the price of the Sternguard make me angry, because they cost more than the regular guys and you get half as much for what, some fancier armor?

The old strikeforce is actually $5 less then the new one, and can easily make a 1,250 point TAC list. No arguments that it makes the better starting point. You also left out the fact that it comes with 5 sniper scouts. The new box has a higher percentage of “stronger” units though, so is not without merit.

While the sternguard are expensive on a point per model basis, there are a TON of extras on the sprues, not just some fancy armor. 2 of each combi weapon, one of each special, HB, HF, Some close combat option, extra heads and shoulders. You could easily take the kit and enhance a whole armies worth of sergeants, or take 5 tactical marines and upgrade them to vets, giving you a full 10 man squad.

I guess that must be GW's reasoning for a higher cost, since they seem to base the price on how many extras on the sprue you get and not how many figures you can actually make.

Still way too expensive IMO. I'd pay like $150 for the new one and maybe $200 for the old one, but not at the price they want.

But surely if I am starting a new army, this is pretty much perfect for what I want....? Perhaps I should have added that I am looking to slowly build up a few armies to play with in about five years time when my son is old enough. I'm not too worried about points cost as I'll supplement the box set with a couple of units I want to paint and then think about points (which may well have changed by then) later.

 InyokaMadoda wrote:
But surely if I am starting a new army, this is pretty much perfect for what I want....? Perhaps I should have added that I am looking to slowly build up a few armies to play with in about five years time when my son is old enough. I'm not too worried about points cost as I'll supplement the box set with a couple of units I want to paint and then think about points (which may well have changed by then) later.

It's a good box, just IMO overpriced. If the price doesn't bother you though it's definitely something to pick up for a small little force, or buy additional things for allies.

For instance, Adeptus Astartes Strikeforce + Cadian Defense Force/Tempestus Storm Scions + Imperial Knight for example would be a cool little army IMO. Just very pricey, although given 40k's weird balance that might not be a good army for winning, but it'd look freaking cool and if it didn't cost ($655 with the Tempestus Scions!!) so much I'd probably do that myself because that sounds, in the words of GW themselves, like the start of a great narrative.

Emperor Damn It, now I actually do want to do that. Just $655 is way too much (and that's not including the AM/MT and Knight codexes).

 Nevelon wrote:

WayneTheGame wrote:

Seeing that box makes me realize the costs, again. I priced it out points-wise to about 785 points (with standard loadouts) and it sells for $230. For an entry-level army. If it was half that price, I'd buy it without much of a second thought but $230 just for a basic, barebones starting force? No way. It might have a discount compared to buying everything separately, but that doesn't mean the price for it is acceptable. Also compare that to the other, older box (Space Marine Strikeforce) which is $40 more and comes with an extra tactical squad and assault squad (but no Stormtalon), with a Command Squad in place of the Sternguard.

In fact just the price of the Sternguard make me angry, because they cost more than the regular guys and you get half as much for what, some fancier armor?

The old strikeforce is actually $5 less then the new one, and can easily make a 1,250 point TAC list. No arguments that it makes the better starting point. You also left out the fact that it comes with 5 sniper scouts. The new box has a higher percentage of “stronger” units though, so is not without merit.

While the sternguard are expensive on a point per model basis, there are a TON of extras on the sprues, not just some fancy armor. 2 of each combi weapon, one of each special, HB, HF, Some close combat option, extra heads and shoulders. You could easily take the kit and enhance a whole armies worth of sergeants, or take 5 tactical marines and upgrade them to vets, giving you a full 10 man squad.

Well, both are on the site, so you can get the old one too if you want.

 InyokaMadoda wrote:
But surely if I am starting a new army, this is pretty much perfect for what I want....? Perhaps I should have added that I am looking to slowly build up a few armies to play with in about five years time when my son is old enough. I'm not too worried about points cost as I'll supplement the box set with a couple of units I want to paint and then think about points (which may well have changed by then) later.

If you are looking for a long term army, try to keep to the core identity of the force you are building. For marines, building around a core of tactical marines, with a few extras tacked on for flavor, is safe. Might not be tournament competitive, but those lists tend to focus of powerful niche cases, which might not cary over to the next edition of the rules/codex. Space marines, being the flagship army, are a good benchmark. FotM armies come and go, but vanilla, codex, marines can be counted on to be average as far as armies go.

For a basic marine force, I’d recommend the old strikeforce, rather then the new one. You get more for your buck and it’s a solid core to expand from. The first thing you probably would want to add would be a devastator box. This gives you some anti-tank firepower, and options besides MLs for your tactical squads. From a fluff POV, that will also give you the three core aspects of the marines: tactical, assault, and devastator squads. Depending on how you kit things out, that should also bump you to 1,500 points, which is a good place to be.

When looking at GW’s bundles, look for the box. There are a number of “1-click” web bundles, which offer zero savings. They are just there for inspiration/advertising. But if it comes in it’s own box, there is normally a discount. Plus you might be able to get more of one by going through your FLGS or ordering from an online discounter. In general, you can ignore one or two items from the box and still save money buying it. But do shop smart. Price out the things you actually want from the box and compare what you would spend buying them together/separate. 40k is expensive enough as it it, try to take advantage of savings when you can.

Not everyone can order online. But what bothers me the most is that even, if buy two of them the army is still no where near finished.

Makumba wrote:
Not everyone can order online. But what bothers me the most is that even, if buy two of them the army is still no where near finished.

And the selections are fairly basic. Like I just looked at my above three allies, and it was just shy of 2000 points but costs almost $700 USD and doesn't give any variety, so while it might be cool as an idea, you're likely to lose every game because you aren't specializing in any one thing and won't be able to deal with a lot of armies. That's a major issue period for that kind of money. A cool looking army that has no chance of winning is basically worthless for use in a game.

The IG box are nice till one checks that there no special weapons to do vets and that the list still lacks wyverns, vendettasn etc.

I don't envy people who are starting now. In 5th when I wanted to play IG, I played IG. Now you have to play some sort of multi codex hybrid. When people here hear that the starting books to play skim on 200$, they just say no thank you. And no new players means, shops close and people with armies have fewer places to play :(

Though if chaos is what you fancy, than "Dark vengence" is probably your best bet.

They might be snap-fits, but they are amazing looking.
They might be sup-optimal, but they can be toyed with

With some conversion works, you can have all the models become chaos marines (and improve some of the suboptimal ones gear choices), making a very big, very diverse force, for very cheap.
Will require some extra chaos bits, but DV plus a chaos kit or two will still cost less than the CSM attack force, and will net you so much more.