After all the increases, Warhammer 40k and AoS players are wondering how much an army costs, and why it seems so expensive now.
Updated on April 10th, 2025, by Rob Baer with the newest prices, links, and information.
So, you’re thinking about starting a Warhammer army—or maybe just wondering why your wallet’s been crying every time you look at a new Combat Patrol box. Between Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar, prices have crept up faster than a Lictor on a lonely Guardsman, and players everywhere are asking the same thing: how much does a full army actually cost now?
Short answer—it depends. Long answer? Grab your calculator and let’s do some quick math before you accidentally build a golden-plated Skaven horde.
How Much Does a Warhammer Army Cost Now?
With the recent large kit price increases (and the ones probably hitting soon), hobbyists may wonder why the models seem to cost so much lately.
We’re going to compare the Sons of Behemat to other factions in both Warhammer 40k and AoS to see if the price tag is consistent, rising, or a mix of both. Who knows, maybe we will be surprised and see that the price is actually dropping?
Let’s dive in and see how much Games Workshop wants you to spend on your Warhammer army, and how much does Warhammer 40k cost!
The Cost of a Sons of Behemat Army
While Gargants seem to be pricey, they are pretty elite, so maybe fewer boxes will mean less money overall?
We can just assume you’ll play two Mega Gargants, King Brodd, and three-man crushers for your battleline. This puts you pretty close to the 2K points number.
So, how much does this example list cost?
- 2 Mega Gargants $215 ea.
- 3 Mancrusher Gargants $170 ($75 each, this is the Spearhead price)
- King Brodd $215
Total Monofaction cost: $815
Chaos Everchosen Army Cost
Another elite army that had some price controversy (cough, cough, Varanguard) on release was the Archaon Everchosen faction.
Looking at a basic list, you can run Archaon, 9 Varanguard (3 battlelines), 1 Gaunt Summoner
So, how much does this example list cost?
- Archaon, Grandmarshal of the Apocalypse $194
- 9 Varanguard (3 boxes of 3 models) $110 ea.
- Gaunt Summoner on Disc of Tzeentch $44
- Slaves to Darkness Endless Spells $52
Total Monofaction Cost: $620
This might be the most elite army out there, and actually comes in about $200 cheaper than the Sons of Behemat! Which might just give you an answer to solve why Warhammer is so expensive and save you some cash!
It’s all well and good looking at AoS, but let’s dive into the prices of a 40k army.
How Much Does a Warhammer 40k Army Cost?
But how about the cost of an elite Warhammer 40,000 army? Especially now that list building has been streamlined, and all you need to do to build an army is start picking units with up to six of the Battleline.
Looking at a basic Monofaction list, how much can you expect to pay for a 2k-point Knight list?
- 6 Helverins (3 boxes) $94.50 ea.
- 1 Gallant $179
- 1 Crusader $179
- 1 Warden $179
Total Monofaction Cost: $820.50 (You can sub out any single Knight, too, for two boxes of Armigers and get about the same price)
Even a list of big robots might leave your wallet asking, why is Warhammer so expensive? Because by the time you get all the dice and such, it’s not going to be cheap.
Space Marine Salamanders Army Cost
How about a more standard Warhammer 40k army these days…
Pulling from a tournament, this is a pretty good indicator for a typical Space Marine list, except that it’s Salamander flavored!
- 1 Adrax Agatone $45
- 1 Captain $42
- 1 Primaris Lieutenant $37
- 5 Primaris Infiltrators (10 in box) $62.50
- 5 Primaris Intercessors (10 in box) $62.50
- 5 Scout Squad $80 for 10
- 6 Primaris Aggressors (boxes of 3 ea.) $60 ea.
- 3 Bladeguard Veterans $60
- 2 Invictor Tactical Warsuit $70
- 6 Primaris Inceptors (box of 3) $60 ea.
- Rhino $60
- 6 Eradicators $60 ea. for 3
- 1 Impulsor $80
- 1 Storm Speeder $79
Total Monofaction Cost: $1045.50
This is about the average cost of building an army these days for a normal-type faction. While you can get away with cheaper armies here and there with Combat Patrols and such… It seems to cost about $1,000 if you bought everything separately and not at a discount. But always keep in mind that a lot of local stores will discount up to 15%, saving you a decent amount of cash.
Are Sons of Behemat Fairly Priced?
- AoS: Sons of Behemat Monofaction cost: $815
- AoS: Chaos Everchosen Monofaction Cost: $620
- 40k: Imperial Knights Monofaction Cost: $820.50
- 40k: Salamanders Monofaction Cost: $1045.50
In short, no, but ultimately it depends; here’s why.
Elite armies tend to be cheaper to build because large models tend to have better points-per-dollar ratios. This means the more elite units your army is made of, the cheaper it can be to make.
With this in mind, the Sons of Behemat fail that presumption. Archaon and Imperial Knight lists are both similar, and their prices also reflect that (but cheaper).
Sons of Behemat are closer to that of a spam list and are even on par with a pretty diverse Space Marine list filled with bodies.
When comparing these, it’s also important to note a few things. When Everchosen was released, they had one of the most expensive books; however, now they have been merged into Slaves to Darkness, making them broader, less elite, and potentially much less expensive.
Varanguard used to be a major complaint as they are $110 per box and get you three models totaling 280 points for that tag. Meanwhile, $100 of Warriors gets you 30 models and 540 points, almost double!
Archaon is also extremely dense in terms of points. He is one of the best cost-to-point ratio models made by Games Workshop, coming in at $170 for 800 pts (New Mega Gargants are $30 more and 300ish fewer points). If you take Archaon out of the list, his army becomes significantly more expensive.
Due to Archaon almost being worth two Mega Gargants in points, it doesn’t feel right to compare them.
However, comparing Knights to Behemat at face value seems better; both are closer to each other in terms of releases, and both contain similar-sized models across the respective lists.
They also have a similar amount of models. The Knights list has three large models and four slightly smaller models. Sons of Behemat have three large models and three slightly smaller models. Yet with these apparent comparisons, the Sons of Behemat come out $90 more…
The only factor that could rationalize the price of the Sons of Behemat is that you can take them with any faction in AoS, making them one of the most flexible units in the game in that sense. Perhaps they are pricier because even with that flexibility, GW feels that they won’t sell as many of those as, say, a Questoris Knight kit.
It’s also worth noting that this is just the cost of models in an army, and no additional rules books, dice, etc., which in theory will cost well over $100 more than the prices shown above.
Is it Affordable To Build a Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar Army?
So, how much does it cost to build a Warhammer army now? Judging from these examples, it seems to average around $850. After factoring in books, dice, and other game aids you may need to play, you’re looking at around $1,000 as the cost of an average Warhammer Army these days. And if you’re asking yourself why Warhammer is so expensive, it seems the constant price hikes get you there.
However, there are ways to save on building a new or existing army:
What do you think about the cost of a Warhammer army now? Why do you think Warhammer is so expensive currently?
