What to buy after Armageddon, and what to skip for Orks and Space Marines

Armageddon gives you 61 brand new miniatures split between Space Marines and Orks, plus the new Core Rulebook, Operation: Imperator, Chapter Approved, Dominatus, datasheet cards, and a transfer sheet. It is exactly the kind of 40k launch box that can trick you into overbuying before you have a real plan. The smarter play is to treat it as the first step in a release cycle. From there, the question is not “what else exists?” It is which next purchase actually fixes a hole in your army, and which one just gives you more of the same plastic you already own.

What Armageddon actually gives you

The big thing to understand is that Armageddon is a launch ecosystem, not a one-and-done bundle. Operation: Imperator is only available inside the box, while much of the rest of the contents will later be sold separately.

The timing matters too. The box was first revealed on 1 May 2026, after the new edition was shown at AdeptiCon Preview 2026 on 26 March 2026. The launch set will be available strictly while stocks last, even though a lot of copies were made for launch.

Orks: buy for a different job, not more of the same

The Ork half of Armageddon is built around Ghazghkull Thraka’s return to Armageddon and the swelling horde around him, so the trap is obvious: buy another unit that does exactly what the starter already does, and your list gets wider instead of better. The box already gives you a functioning Ork core, so the next purchase should solve a specific problem the starter does not. If you need speed, buy something that extends threat range. If you need pressure on objectives, buy something that can fan out and hold ground. If you need to crack tougher targets, buy the first Ork unit that actually changes how you answer armor.

What you should skip for now is any duplicate of the same battlefield role you already pulled out of Armageddon. A second helping of the same cheap infantry or the same melee pressure unit looks efficient on paper, but it usually just gives you more models fighting for the same space on the table. Since much of the rest of the box will be available separately later, there is no need to panic-buy the next shiny Ork kit if it does not expand what your force can do.

Space Marines: lean into armored warfare, not extra elite overlap

The Space Marine side has a slightly different problem, because it already includes a mix of new and classic units, including Eradicators with heavy bolters and Vanguard Veterans. That means the box is already handing you a bit of anti-armour, a bit of melee punch, and a bit of flexible board presence. The cleanest next buy is the piece that makes those models work in a list, not another elite unit that simply repeats the same profile.

That is where the wider Armageddon campaign focus comes in. The story is built around additional Space Marine detachments centered on armored warfare, alongside the fight for Hive Death Mire and the Operation Imperator counterattack. If you are building Marines from this launch, the smart money goes toward durable support that helps a force operate like a real combined-arms army. What you can skip for now is another flashy elite choice that duplicates the Vanguard Veterans’ battlefield role or another anti-tank piece that does the same job as the heavy bolter Eradicators you already have in hand.

Buy now, skip for now

• Buy now: Armageddon, if you want the new Core Rulebook and the exclusive Operation: Imperator book in one purchase.

• Buy now: A second purchase only if it fills a role your starter force cannot already cover, especially for board control, anti-armour, or mission play.

• Skip for now: A second copy of the launch box. It doubles up on the rulebook side and piles on the same army roles without solving a new problem.

• Skip for now: Any unit that simply repeats what the box already gives you, whether that is Ork bodies for the sake of bodies or another Space Marine elite choice that overlaps with Vanguard Veterans.

• Wait on: The next wave of standalone releases, because much of the rest of Armageddon is coming separately and those kits will tell you a lot more about what each faction really wants at 1,000 points.