Starting a new fantasy army is one of the best parts of the hobby.

It can also be one of the most intimidating.

Do you buy 2,000 points straight away? Which units do you actually need? What if you spend months painting an army only to discover you don’t enjoy playing it?

That’s one reason we’re particularly excited about the growing focus on smaller games of Warhammer: The Old World.

With Battle March designed around armies of roughly 400–750 points, you can get a proper force onto the table with only a handful of units, play games much more quickly and expand gradually once you’ve worked out what you enjoy.

Whether you’re completely new to The Old World or you’re an experienced player looking for an excuse to start army number six — we all know how that goes — here’s how we’d approach building a smaller fantasy force.

Why start with a smaller army?

The obvious advantage is cost.

Building an entire large army in one go can represent a significant investment, particularly when you don’t yet know whether you enjoy the army’s playstyle.

A smaller force gives you the chance to experiment first.

It’s also a much more manageable painting project.

A unit of infantry, some cavalry, a character and a war machine suddenly feels achievable rather than staring down several hundred unpainted miniatures on your desk.

And importantly, these aren’t just demonstration games.

Battle March has been developed specifically around smaller forces, with modified army-building rules and scenarios intended to keep games interesting at that scale. Games Workshop describes the format as retaining the manoeuvring, tactical decisions and charges of the full game while fitting them into a much shorter game.

There’s even been a recent free Battle March scenario built around forces of no more than 750 points, reinforcing that Games Workshop is continuing to support the format rather than treating it as a one-off introductory mode.

What does a good starter army need?

You don’t need one of everything.

For your first small force, we’d concentrate on a few basic building blocks.

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Starter armies at UKResinPrint

This smaller-army approach is also something we’ve been developing within the UKResinPrint range.

Rather than requiring you to pick every unit individually, our Starter Army and Army Bundle sets bring together useful collections of miniatures that can form the beginnings of a larger fantasy army.

They’re not official Battle March armies and you’ll still need to build your own legal army list for whichever rules you’re playing, but they’re a straightforward way of getting a coherent force onto the painting table.

Here are a few of the forces currently available.

Sunland Starter Army

If the classic combination of massed infantry, black-powder weapons and cavalry appeals to you, the Sunland Starter Army is a particularly good place to begin.

The bundle contains 59 Highlands Miniatures models, combining ranked infantry, missile troops, artillery and Pistoleers into one force.

At £99.99, it also saves £15.38 compared with purchasing the included units separately.

Norse Tribes Starter Army

Prefer fur, axes and an alarming amount of facial hair?

The Norse Tribes Starter Army combines 45 Highlands Miniatures models across infantry, bowmen and several mounted options.

It’s a particularly flexible starting collection because you’ve immediately got both a solid foot component and the mobility provided by the mounted Raiders.

And with Highlands continuing to expand its Norse range, there’s plenty of room for that smaller starting force to grow over time.

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Greenbellies, Steppes, Infernal Dwarfs and more

We’ve also been gradually expanding our Army Bundle range across more fantasy factions.

That means if your ideal army involves hordes of greenskins, mounted warriors from the steppes, heavily armoured Evil Dwarfs or something altogether stranger, there are increasingly more options for starting with a coherent collection rather than buying units completely independently.

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Start with 500 points – not your final 2,000

Perhaps the biggest advantage of smaller games is psychological.

Your first army doesn’t have to be your finished army.

Build something around 500–750 points.

Paint it.

Play it.

Work out which units you love.

Discover which units spectacularly fail you every single game.

Then expand it.

You might discover that your cavalry needs support.

Maybe you want another infantry regiment.

Perhaps one artillery piece inevitably becomes three.

That’s a much more enjoyable way to build an army than buying everything up front based purely on a theoretical 2,000-point list.

It’s also exactly the sort of experimentation the designers have said Battle March was intended to encourage.

Small armies are also great hobby projects

There’s another reason we’re excited about the format that has absolutely nothing to do with competitive army lists.

Smaller armies give you permission to do something weird.

An entire 2,000-point themed army can become a daunting project.

A 500-point warband?

That’s manageable.

Try an unusual colour scheme.

Build a force around a particular character.

Create an army entirely from miniatures you’ve always wanted to paint.

Go ridiculously overboard on the bases.

And if you love the result, you’ve already painted the beginning of your next full army.

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Ready to start another army?

Whether you’re taking your first steps into Warhammer: The Old World or simply looking for an excuse to start something new, smaller games make the barrier to entry considerably lower.

You don’t need an enormous collection.

You don’t need to decide on your final army list immediately.

You just need a general, a few units and someone willing to meet you across the battlefield.

And, inevitably, you’ll probably end up expanding it anyway.

Browse Starter Armies & Army Bundles

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UKResinPrint is an independent miniature retailer and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Games Workshop. Warhammer and Warhammer: The Old World are trademarks of Games Workshop Limited.