The Hidden Costs of Warhammer 40K

Getting started in Warhammer 40,000 is an exciting journey. You pick your first faction, buy your first box, and battle your buddies with the models you spent hours assembling and painting.

You look at the cost of the models you want, add in some hobby supplies, and expect that to be the total cost of Warhammer 40K. Unfortunately, that is not how things play out. Warhammer 40K, and Warhammer in general, is a long-term hobby that continues to ask you to open your wallet to stay up to date. Whether you are a casual player or someone who enjoys competitive play, new costs appear as you become more invested.

This guide breaks down hidden expenses that can catch both new and experienced players off guard. If you are just starting out, our Best Starter Warhammer 40K Armies: 2026 Edition guide is a great companion read to help you choose a faction that fits your budget.

Hidden Cost 1: Dice, Dice, and More Dice

Warhammer 40K is a dice chucker of a game, with some armies rolling an absurd number of dice at once. My personal favorite example is the classic twenty Ork Boyz with choppas led by a Warboss rolling sixty or more dice in a single combat. In previous editions, certain units could roll close to one hundred dice at one time.

You need a large number of six-sided dice to play Warhammer. You will use them for attacks, wound tracking, command points, and sometimes even marking deployment zones. While starter sets occasionally include dice, most players quickly realize they need far more.

If you buy official Games Workshop dice (please don’t do it), you could easily be looking at over one hundred dollars just for dice. That is ridiculous for something as simple as a cube with six different numbers on it.

The better approach is to use dice from other games such as board games or tabletop RPGs, then supplement them with bulk dice. Brands like Chessex offer thirty-six dice for ten dollars. Buy two of these and you are set for most armies in the game. This is the route I personally use and recommend to all players.

Hidden Cost 2: Storage and Transport

Now that you have a growing collection of models, dice, and hobby supplies, the next question becomes where you store everything and how you transport it safely to games.

At home, storage can be simple. Cabinets, shelves, or spare boxes all work. Personally, I use an old Ikea cabinet that I magnetized to store multiple armies. Each shelf is labeled, which helps keep everything organized and easy to access.

If you do not have spare furniture or extra space, plastic bins are another great option. Adding a metal sheet to the bottom and magnetizing your models creates a simple storage solution that can fit in any corner of your home.

This type of storage can also double as transport for smaller elite armies such as Knights, Custodes, or Grey Knights. Horde armies are another story. Bringing multiple bins quickly becomes inconvenient and difficult to manage.

There are several dedicated transport options available if you need a more premium solution. Foam cases remain a popular choice, although I am personally not a big fan. If you are considering foam, companies like Battlefoam offer a wide range of options designed for different army sizes. These cases can range from $50 to $300, but they provide strong protection and peace of mind. Even as someone who prefers magnetized storage, Battlefoam produces great quality products.

My personal favorite solution is the MagCase 2.0, which uses metal trays and magnets for storage. The case is sturdy, looks great, and is easy to build. The main downside is weight, though carrying two thousand points of Orks is never going to be light no matter what solution you choose.

There are also lesser-known brands that can often be found online at lower prices. These options may lack some of the sturdiness of premium cases, but many players find them perfectly adequate. Look at reviews, be careful, and you should be fine with any case you choose. I have used this particular case myself and it is still going strong years later.

Storage and transport is one area where investing in quality can save you frustration in the long run.

Hidden Cost 3: Terrain

Terrain is essential for Warhammer 40K. Whether you are using spare boxes, plastic cups, or fully painted buildings, the game relies on terrain to function properly.

I am not going to try to convince you to buy Games Workshop terrain or even third-party terrain because I do not own a single piece of official terrain at home.

Terrain is one of the biggest money traps in Warhammer 40K.

Terrain often changes from edition to edition, meaning certain pieces become less useful over time. It also takes up a massive amount of space, requires additional storage, and can be difficult to transport. On top of that, terrain is a surprisingly sensitive topic. How much terrain is enough? Who brings it? What type should be used? These questions can vary widely between local groups.

My recommendation is to find a local gaming store and use their terrain. Most stores have a wide range available, and you never have to worry about transporting or storing it yourself. If you regularly play with friends, someone in the group often ends up owning terrain that everyone uses.

If you are relying on friends for terrain, try to contribute in other ways. Offer to help paint it, buy lunch after games, or pitch in financially to help expand the collection. Support your local terrain friend so you don’t have to spend the money and time to get your own set.

If you want to be the terrain person in your group, 3D printing is often the best place to start. If that is not an option, third-party companies offer high-quality terrain at a fraction of official pricing.

Hidden Cost 4: Edition Subscriptions

Every edition of Warhammer 40K introduces new materials that players often feel pressured to buy to stay current. This typically includes:

Core rulebook
Faction Codex
Mission packs

You can choose to ignore these releases, but Warhammer is an evolving game. Staying current is often the only way to find consistent games in your area.

The costs for these are significant:

Core Rulebook: $60
Codex: $50–$60
Mission Packs: $90 ($30 per pack; 3 per edition)

Thanks to the amazing Warhammer 40K community, there are ways to reduce these costs. Online resources like Wahapedia, list building tools like New Recruit, and YouTube make it easier than ever to stay informed without purchasing every release. I will always recommend buying a core rulebook, especially if you are learning the game, and the mission packs if your friends do not plan on buying them.

Hidden Cost 5: Games Workshop Shenanigans

Games Workshop makes decisions every edition that can have a real impact on your wallet. Veteran players learn to expect this, but newer players can be surprised when parts of their army become irrelevant or when new purchases become necessary.

Legends

Legends is a sensitive subject. Unsupported with questionable balance, Legend models are not allowed in most tournaments, and even casual players may be hesitant to play against them. If a portion of your army is put into Legends, you will need to replace it with non-Legends models to play in tournaments and in certain local groups. Games Workshop’s Legends selection is arbitrary at times, leaving you holding a bag of models that are less playable in the new edition than in the past.

Balance

Balance dataslates are great, and Games Workshop deserves credit for their dedication to supporting game balance. However, your army is subject to the whims of Games Workshop, which can leave your army in the bottom rungs of win rate. While all of us play this game for enjoyment, not necessarily to win, it is no fun facing an uphill battle every time you bring out your army.

If you dedicate yourself to one army, it could be months or even years before your army is competitive, or the units you love are good enough to play without being crushed. The balance hammer Games Workshop doles out comes for all armies at some point. If you are a one-army player, it can have an outsized impact on your enjoyment.

Faction Expansion and Compression

When your favorite faction gets compressed into another faction — cough, Harlequins — it is a definite feels bad. Games Workshop promises support, but you are left with a half-baked faction with rules that rarely change in an army you probably did not care to own in the first place. Games Workshop has essentially forced you to invest in another faction without your consent, and now you are looking to fill out your list with units that have real rules and synergies.

On the other hand, faction expansion is treated with mostly applause. Everyone loves adding a new faction into the game, right? Well, the cost of adding a new faction is something all non-Space Marine armies feel over the next few years. Time, lore, and production that may have gone to the army you own is now being split with another army.

This new army — cough, Emperor’s Children — then comes out with limited models, and Games Workshop is left with another half-baked faction they need to build out over years. This can cause your army to feel ignored and support to dry up, leaving you with stale units and rules that may push you toward buying another army or additional units to add variety to your gameplay.

Tricky Pricing

Games Workshop is, most of the time, transparent with their pricing, telling you exactly what you get when you buy. But Games Workshop can still be tricky on the margins.

Kill Team sets have become a fancy way to box refreshed basic troops for 40K behind higher than normal pricing, then wait a few months to release them for 40K, hoping you buy them at the premium. The Warhammer app is another example, with third-party choices like New Recruit often being better for free or at a lower monthly charge. Space Marine Lieutenant number 387 is the same model sold again with a slightly different look at increased pricing.

There are many pricing traps in Warhammer 40K that can make an army cost more than you expect.

Final Thoughts

At ThriftHammer, the goal is to help players find deals, save money, and help newer players navigate the hobby more effectively. Warhammer 40K can be an expensive hobby, but understanding these hidden costs helps set expectations early.

If you are new to the hobby, starting slowly is highly recommended. Paint a single model, read the lore, or watch battle reports before committing hundreds of dollars to an army. There is no need to rush into building a full army immediately.

Warhammer 40K is a long-term hobby that evolves over time. Know your budget. Avoid FOMO. And most importantly, stay on the hunt for the best deals.

The Hidden Costs of Warhammer 40K: What You Don't Expect and Eventually Pay For