Contrary to popular belief, Games Workshop is a miniature company first and a game / novel publisher second. So that means no matter what interests you, there will always be minis that appeal specifically to you. We all have our preferences, be it the food we eat, the games we play, or the hobbies we enjoy.
And Warhammer is no different. But Warhammer can be overwhelming to some since there's a huge variety of choice no matter what setting you choose. So let's talk about it.
Hello everyone, it's me, the Warhammer complaining guy / handy distributor of wallets and maker of terrible financial decisions back with another video that can hopefully help you make all the right choices when collecting Warhammer. Even though I might seem like the worst person to be giving this advice. But before we dive into today's subject matter, a huge thank you for all your support for the channel.
So make sure to super have the video if you're on mobile, leave a like, comment, and subscribe. And if you want to be a gigachad, maybe become a channel member too for channel updates, cat photos, early access to new videos, and the exclusive member section of the Discord. Also, maybe share this video with your friends because this is apparently a topic a lot of people need help with.
So what is the smartest way to collect Warhammer? Well, there are many ways to go about it, but using my 7 years of experience in this hobby, I made all the mistakes so you don't have to. First, you know the drill, I've mentioned it in all my other videos and I'm not going to go over in too much detail, the rule of cool, which is the first thing you should do before you even think about buying any miniatures, which in short means go on the GW website, watch a few lore videos or battle reports on YouTube, and decide which miniatures you think look the coolest and plan your purchases out from there.
The reason I say miniature or army is because like I said, GW is a miniature company first and game publisher second. Or is it game publisher first, miniature company second, or novel publisher first, miniature company, and then game company? You don't have to collect an army, you can just collect whatever miniatures interest you, and then from there you can decide if you want an army or not.
Because if you're dead set on army and have the funds, Warhammer can have a high upfront cost, but whatever you buy will fortunately be relevant for years until GW decides to throw something into legends. This is also the part of the video where I mention 3D printing to appease the 3D printing simps. 3D printing is also a large upfront cost, but it can pay off in the long run, especially since I know Warhammer is stupidly expensive in some South American countries, and you also aren't just locked into Warhammer if you just want to paint miniatures.
But no, 3D printing still isn't plug and play like a lot of 3D printing simps would have you believe. So do your own research. Side tangent aside, rule of cool, follow it and you'll have a much easier time collecting Warhammer.
But you should also do it in moderation unlike what I did, which is what I like to call the "fuck it, we ball" route. So buy a Warlord Titan as your first miniature, then a knight's army, and an Indomitus box, and various other space marines. Since it's in your wallet's best interest to buy not only in moderation, but also be strategic and know specifically what you want to buy.
Not knowing what to buy increases the monetary pain on your wallet if you're not smart about it and plan out how and what you buy, and more specifically, where you buy from. So how and what do you buy? Well, let me give you some advice that I probably should have followed myself when I first started so you can save as much money as possible.
Like I said, we're trying to be smart here and avoid going the "fuck it, we ball" route at all costs. The first thing you should do if you're just starting or you want another army to make a fine addition to my collection is to buy a combat patrol, but that's only if you're impatient. But if you can wait, I would honestly pick up one of the large combo boxes they've been releasing more often lately or the Christmas boxes around obviously Christmas time.
If you're dead set on one specific army, this is in my opinion the best way to start Warhammer because some of these boxes come with a significant amount of army or expensive miniatures, and if you're playing space marines, you might be able to get two boxes since space marines usually get four. So for $500, getting a nearly full army is a pretty good deal compared to just going "fuck it, we ball". Now, if you have friends, you can also split the cost of a start collecting box or new addition box.
So either you pay $115 each or 150 if it's the new edition box. Now, if you aren't dead set in an army yet and just want to test the waters, I recommend getting a blister pack mini for $45. Yes, these things cost $45.
I know it's stupid, but that's what happens when you have a stranglehold on the miniature wargames market. But blister pack minis are a great way to just start out if you don't want to large upfront cost, and it also sets your expectations for what exactly you signed up for. And more recently, I found out there's $35 starter sets with some minis and paints.
Right now it's infernus marines and termagants plus a river storm, which honestly isn't a bad deal. That is if it's wargamers first miniatures because infernus marines need to be in a squad of five minimum, and termagants minimum 10. Yeah, I think you see the issue here.
So honestly, it's best to plan out and be strategic with your purchases because remember, you want to be smart about what you collect or else you'll end up with a bunch of minis you don't want. But you know what is smart? Buying a carrying case from the sponsor of today's video, Tabletop Stronghold.
Do you want to play Warhammer and you need a carrying case for your brand new army that may or may not be your first or fifth army? Well, do yourself a favor and get a MagCase 2. 0 to not only make your next trip to the game store less stressful with its 30 MDF construction, but to also make a statement that not only are you money savvy when it comes to your army, but also take pride in protecting your minis magnetized to these adjustable magnetic trays created by the >> all powerful magnet wizard.
But you'll find that perfect MagCase that suits whatever size army you have like the MagCase mini for me. And if you want to help me help you, use my link in the pinned comment or description for a massive 35% discount on your next order from now until March 31st. So thank you, Tabletop Stronghold, for sponsoring this video.
If you want to get any MagCase or case and terrain combo that ships to pretty much anywhere in the world for free, go to tabletopstronghold. com. But now that you have an idea of what to buy, where should you buy your minis from?
Well, if you want to save money, let's ignore the GW store because it'll get really expensive fast. I recommend you buy your minis first and foremost from your LGS, otherwise known as your friendly local game store. Mileage may vary.
Usually minis will be below MSRP that GW charges, and your LGS might also have a rewards program and a rage quit section or the used minis section for a significantly cheaper than retail. Hence why I see buying from your LGS as the smartest way to collect Warhammer. Again, mileage may vary.
A local game store is honestly the best place to buy minis from because it also fosters a tabletop community if they do have the space for Warhammer, and it isn't just all the sweaty magic players taking up the entire store. An LGS makes all the difference because a $210 knight will instead be much cheaper like the $160 I paid for my knight lancer. The GW store is honestly your very last resort if you want to collect Warhammer the smart way.
Another place you can buy miniatures from is eBay, Troll Trader, and Facebook Marketplace. eBay and Troll Trader are a great place to get some used miniatures to add to what you might already have, but eBay isn't really a great place to pick up newer miniatures that are highly desirable or Christmas and new edition boxes since as you all know, scalpers ruin everything. Troll Trader is honestly your best bet for getting used minis for cheap if we ignore the tariffs.
So if you want to add to your budding collection, I honestly recommend them. #not sponsored. Then finally, there's Facebook Marketplace.
However, buy at your own risk because scammers run rampant there. The smartest way to avoid being scammed on Facebook Marketplace is to ask for pictures and a label with the seller's name, date, time, last four digits of their social security number, and if they pass the vibe check, do a PayPal business transaction, and if they refuse, well, then it's a scam. Remember, we're trying to be smart here, so we want to be smarter than the dumbass trying to scam people, although that's not a very high bar.
Okay, so now you know what you want, and you know where to buy. Well, now what? Well, this is where you can either if you want to play the game or just collect miniatures.
If you want to play, do not, I repeat, do not collect what's meta. You'll not have any fun. Collect for your own sake, not for what's meta.
A good example of this is the random assortment of minis I have for all my armies. They're all over the place with no sense of being coherent whatsoever. It's just one giant cluster of random space marines, custodes, and almost every single Imperial knight in existence.
Also, you can't talk about collecting what you think looks cool and not meta without mentioning Paul because centurions are based. Now this part is some general advice that's both smart and something you should consider in a section I'm going to include in all my videos now when I can't think of anything else called handy tips. Starting with paint since that's the next logical step once you decided what you're going to collect.
So I'm going to be honest, GW paint is not that great and it's really overpriced. And them just relabeling their paint pots recently instead of fixing the issues that have been around for years isn't really helping their case. Don't get me wrong, Citadel paints are fine if you're just starting.
However, I'm not calling them Warhammer paints, you GW. I like a lot of their contrast paints, but more so as washes and glazes. I'm slowly starting to phase out all of my GW paints as soon as I can find a better alternative because at this point, that's not really a high bar.
Avoid any GW base paints that are yellow, orange, light flesh colors, and light grays to white. I'm telling you this because I'm saving you money and a massive headache. Of all their paints that I own, their metallics were the easiest to replace because they're horrible compared to the competition.
For example, Vallejo metal color air, I get nearly three times the amount of better quality paint for yes, two times the price, but that's still way cheaper for the equivalent amount of GW metallic paint. I highly recommend two thin coats from our lord and savior, Duncan Rhodes. Great consistency and opacity for about the same price as GW paints, depending on your location, of course.
But you get the idea, a lot of GW paints are trash, so expand your horizons. For cutters, you can honestly use any of them. Just make sure you can get rid of casting gates correctly.
And glues, use to me at extra thin. It's honestly the best stuff out there. So, yeah, that's how to collect Warhammer the smart way.
I hope you take my advice and learn from my mistakes, so you don't have to make them yourself. Cuz believe me when I say this, Warhammer honestly isn't getting any cheaper. Anyways, thanks for watching the video.
If you want to support the channel, I would greatly appreciate it if you subscribe along with hitting the like button and the bell for upload notifications. And maybe leave a comment about the smart ways you collect Warhammer. But, I'll see you all in the next video.
And remember, when you play Warhammer, being poor is a choice.
