Come see Know No Fear, the new 40k 8th Edition Starter set that’s half the price of Dark Imperium.
The Know No Fear Starter Set is the mid-range starter set option for those not wanting the full Dark Imperium Starter but aren’t satisfied with the First Strike Starter offerings. Know No Fear comes in at $80 and offers slightly more than double the miniatures than First Strike and come as multi-part sprues instead of the the Easy To Build variants were seeing now. Plus the plastic comes in either Ultramarine blue or Death Guard green for the first time as well.
What won’t be found in Know No Fear is the complete hardcover Rule Book, Reivers, and the extra squads / characters that can be found in the Dark Imperium itself.
For our complete review, be scroll down and press play on the full video below.
The parts tray in Know No Fear also doubles as terrain and comes with a paper poster like game mat that is double sided and measures 2’x4′. The terrain and double sided mat are themed off of the Sector Imperialis boards, and work with the 6 mission that come in the rule booklet. Those missions will have you battling it out in the ruins of an Imperial City.
The 96 page core book comes with rules, missions, painting guides, and datasheets for the units inside, and so far seems to be the best content value of any starter set.
One thing we would like to point out is the sprue instructions not matching their actual configuration (from both this set and Dark Imperium).
It appears they made some slight adjustments to add sprue ejection ports and did not go back and rework the instruction images. After some reworking, we were able to figure out what was where. Our review video has a full diagram for you to use when cutting down your sprues for each unit.
The miniatures are the same multi-part ones that we have seen in the Dark Imperium set and come with a simple base coat of color to have new players quickly jumping into missions after building.
Know No Fear: A Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set: $80
Containing 31 Primaris Space Marines and Death Guard miniatures, Know No Fear is a fantastic starting point for the newcomer to the Warhammer 40,000 hobby – an exciting fusion of collecting, painting and playing with highly detailed Citadel miniatures. Contained within this fully-packed box is everything needed to take you through the process of learning to play games of Warhammer 40,000 – miniatures, rulebooks, scenery, a gaming mat, right down to the dice and rulers:
The Miniatures
31 detailed plastic Citadel miniatures from the Primaris Space Marines and Death Guard range, in blue and green plastic, ready for you to assemble:
Primaris Space Marines
Mighty warriors and fearless protectors of humanity, equipped with the greatest weapons and armour the Imperium can provide, the Space Marines are heroes one and all.
– 1 Primaris Space Marine Captain, resplendent in cloak and iron halo, holding aloft a master-crafted power sword in one hand and wielding a boltstorm gauntlet on the other;
– a 5-man Primaris Space Marine Intercessor Squad – the heart of a Primaris Space Marines army – armed with bolt rifles and bolt pistols;
– 1 3-man Primaris Space Marine Inceptor Squad – shock troops who slam into the fight with jump packs screaming – armed with assault bolters;
– 1 5-man Primaris Space Marine Hellblaster Squad – the finest marksmen, able to lay low entire armies on their own – armed with plasma incinerators and bolt pistols.Death Guard
The Death Guard trudge inexorably into battle amidst the drone of endless swarms of flies. Bloated, rotten and riddled with disease, these revolting traitors are virtually immune to pain.
– 1 Death Guard Lord of Contagion , a huge, terrifying Chaos Space Marine covered in spiked, corrupted Terminator armour armed with a plaguereaper.
– 5 Death Guard Plague Marines – 4 armed with boltguns and plague knives, 1 plague champion armed with bolt pistol, plaguesword and power fist;
– 1 Death Guard Foetid Bloat-drone – a huge machine held aloft by rusted turbines – armed with plaguespitters and a plague probe;
– 10 Death Guard Poxwalkers – the rotten, shambling core of the army – armed with improvised weapons (hammers, claws, bayonets and metal pipes are featured.)Gaming Content
Everything you need to learn to play Warhammer 40,000 going with your new miniatures is included in the box, including a 96-page book featuring:
– an introduction to the Warhammer 40,000 hobby – collecting, building, painting and playing with Citadel miniatures;
– a guide to the state of the galaxy in Warhammer 40,000 – the Imperium of Man, the forces of Chaos, the Xenos threat and their terrible intertwinings;
– an overview of the heroic Primaris Space Marines, with a focus on Captains, Intercessors, Inceptors and Hellblasters;
– an overview of the Death Guard, with a focus on the Lords of Contagion, Plague Marines, Foetid Bloat-Drones and Poxwalkers;
– background information setting up the epic conflict between the Ultramarines and Death Guard in the Ultramar system – the home of the Ultramarines;
– a step-by-step painting guide, beginning with a guide to the fundamentals – the brushes and paints to choose – and giving you the tips and techniques needed to paint the miniatures included in the box;
– a ‘start playing’ guide – this is split into 6 missions, each of which introduces more miniatures and more advanced concepts into the flow of the game, taking you from a basic fight between a couple of models to full-blown combat between all 31 included in the box! The missions are designed to be intuitive, and the new player is encouraged to add rules at their own pace;
– a set of core rules – these are the fundamental rules for playing Warhammer 40,000, split into easy to follow phases with a mission designed to ease you in;
– datasheets for every miniature – these are handy cards containing the rules for each model in the box; – a 2’ x 4’ double-sided gaming mat – one side is specially designed with icons showing you where to place miniatures in order to play the 6 missions included in the book, and the other has no markings, so you can play your own games. Each side is printed in full colour with an evocative design of a ruined Imperial city;
– a scenery piece! The inside tray of the box is designed to look like a sealed Imperial bunker, meaning it can be placed on your mat as a piece of scenery for your miniatures to battle over;
– 6 6-sided dice, and a 12” translucent measuring ruler, each vitally important for measuring movement and other in game tasks;
– a decal sheet for your Ultramarines, featuring army and troop iconography;
– 15 32mm, 10 25mm, 4 40mm, 1 50mm and 1 60mm round plastic bases for your miniatures to stand upon, with 3 45mm plastic flying stems for the Inceptor Squad.
The Know No Fear is available now. Be sure to press play on our Unboxing and Review video below for our full review.
For more on the Know No Fear Starter Set and all things Warhammer 40K, visit Games Workshop!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
