7 best Warhammer gifts for Christmas

It’s nearly Christmas, which means that you’re probably looking to buy a gift for your family member or friend who loves Warhammer. Given the hobby has been around for three decades and has built up an impenetrable amount of lore and factions for the casual observer to easily parse, finding the right gift can be hard. Dicebreaker has you covered though, with a raft of Warhammer gifts that should cover every hobbyist, from the fresh-blooded recruit to the grizzled veteran.

Best Warhammer gifts

• Miniatures: The obvious choice, if you know what to get.
• Standalone games: Excellent for introducing people to the hobby without the need to buy into rulebooks and terrain.
• Beginner boxes: Collections to the two main systems that run the gamut from a light introduction to a hearty project.
• Black Library books: Explore the rich fiction of the Warhammer universe.
• Paints, brushes and tools: Must-haves for any hobbyists who want to make their collection look the best.
• Terrain, basing and markers: Even the most invested hobbyist can always use more of these.
• Warhammer merchandise: Everything from T-shirts and mugs to calendars and clothing.

Whilst some knowledge about the recipient would be welcome, there should be plenty on this list that’s safe to get for almost any hobbyist, and not all of it will break the bank either.

1. Miniatures

You can never have too many minis

Games Workshop has always set itself up as a company that prioritises its minis above its games - and as such it produces an incredible range of detailed, complex miniatures to buy, build and paint.

If you know the Warhammer player in your life is itching to start a new army, or bolster their force, then consider one of the many bundles that Games Workshop offers. These include the new 40k-specific, game-ready Combat Patrol boxes; Start Collecting!, which covers Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000; and the new Broken Realms boxes for Age of Sigmar.

If you want to go big you could check if the current Battleforce boxes are in stock at any third-party retailers or any local brick-and-mortar stores - these offer a huge amount of value for any player, but you’ll want to make sure it’s something they want as it’s a huge gift.

Prefer to get something small? You could consider grabbing them a one-off model, such as a hero, a small squad, a single monster for Warcry or even a small warband for Warhammer Underworlds or a team for Blood Bowl. Most Warhammer fans tend to love everything GW makes, so it’s very hard to go wrong here.

Knowledge required: Medium to high

Buy Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Start Collecting! Stormcast Eternals on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

2. Standalone games

Self-contained slices of Warhammer

For those who want a taste of Warhammer without going all-in there are a few options. Games Workshop has expanded its Warhammer offerings well beyond the two mainline miniatures games; you can currently buy a wide range of boxed games that work great as a gift for two players, often with push-fit models. Some of these - such as Kill Team and Warcry - give players a chance to expand into 40k and Age of Sigmar respectively, whilst others offer a more people complete experience out of the box.

For players who are interested in a game that is quick, competitive and constantly evolving, Warhammer Underworlds offers a really tight and elegant hex-based tactics game based around cards and minis. Players face off with small warbands consisting of a handful of push-fit minis, so assembly time is low, and they also make neat little painting projects.

GW releases new Underworlds warbands across the year, adding cards to your collection and enabling you to tailor your warbands as time goes on. There are multiple boxes available now, with Direchasm being the latest and kicking off the fourth season.

Players who want something a bit more granular will probably be interested in the tabletop skirmish offerings. Age of Sigmar’s Warcry and 40k’s Kill Team are both small squad-based games with hefty starter boxes that feature terrain, boards, books and models. Warcry definitely has the more exciting models at the moment, but with Kill Team may get an update to follow 40,000’s Ninth Edition, and having an existing pool of models and terrain is always a great starting point. It even makes a great jumping-on point to the main gaming systems.

Those who want something completely outside the main systems would probably be intrigued by Blood Bowl or Aeronautica Imperialis. Blood Bowl is a fantasy football game that has you take to the gridiron to kick each other in and occasionally score goals, whilst Aeronautica Imperialis is a hex-based aerial dogfighting game between Imperium and Xenos forces. These are both smaller-scale games that in terms of buy-in still provide room for expansion in building your own team or squadron, but with no overlap between the existing games. The rebooted Blood Bowl recently received a brilliant new edition, making it the perfect time for new players to jump in.

For people who want to play a co-operative game with incredible miniatures, Games Workshop is still selling Blackstone Fortress, an exciting one to four-player game that sees you party up to tackle the mysterious depth of the titular space station. Replete with dungeon-crawling combat, with an AI deck playing the enemies, loot upgrades, legacy-style mechanics, standalone expansions and the possibility for a fifth player to take the role of the enemy, it’s got everything a gaming group needs.

Knowledge required: Medium

Buy Aeronautica Imperialis: Wings of Vengeance on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

3. Beginner boxes

Take your first steps into two vast worlds of conflict

For those who want to go all-in and start collecting one of the two main systems, Age of Sigmar or Warhammer 40,000, after making steps with some standalone games, the best place to start is with Games Workshop’s starter boxes - these essentially come in three sizes from small to large, but AoS and 40k configurations are slightly different thanks to the way the systems handle rules.

All of the Age of Sigmar boxes come with the full rules, but only the Command Edition for 40k includes the rules, in a great A5 format. The rules for both systems are available digitally via Games Workshop’s apps, but not having paper copies is an annoying wrinkle we thought was worth mentioning.

We would recommend doing a bit of research into what will suit your giftee best, but you really can’t go wrong with the smaller sets, including Storm Strike and The Recruit Edition, as a safe present - they’ve got everything a new player could want to get a taste of the hobby, and they aren’t going to lump them with a lot of miniatures they might find a little overwhelming.

If you know that they want to transition from 40k to AoS or vice versa, the bigger boxes are easy to recommend as they make great starting places for each force. The Soul Wars set also comes with the full fat Age of Sigmar core rulebook which is full of lore and extra rules - although bear in mind this needs to be supplemented by the current General’s Handbook if you’re playing pick-up games.

For our money, the Command Edition set for Warhammer 40,000 is one of Games Workshop’s best starter boxes ever. It has a lot less models than this year’s Indomitus, but substitutes that for a decent chunk of terrain, and arguably the smaller forces make it a great place to expand from as they eschew a lot of the standalone heroes and units from Indomitus. The box also comes with a quality cardboard gaming board, and the aforementioned A5 version of the rulebook which condenses the lavish hardback 40k core book down to the bare essence of what you need to play, in an easy to transport and reference format.

Both games also have a range of painting sets that match the above sets, which are a great place for hobbyists to start.

Knowledge required: Medium

Buy Warhammer 40,000: Command Edition on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

4. Black Library books

From sweeping epics to compact anthologies, there’s lore for everyone here

Much of the appeal of Games Workshop is in the worlds it has created to support the miniatures it sells. It has successfully branched into releasing fiction for these worlds through its long-running Black Library imprint, courting a wealth of authors to write stories about heroes and villains, and adding a richness to its lore that other game systems struggle to match. The most notable series in the range is the mammoth Horus Heresy series. This fictional hagiography covers the tangled events of the 31st Millennium, setting the scene for the fiction of Warhammer 40,000.

If your giftee is fresh to 40k fiction, then the first books in the Horus Heresy series - Dan Abnett’s Horus Rising, Graham McNeill’s False Gods and Ben Counter’s Galaxy in Flames - are a brilliant place to start.

For those who want a taste of Warhammer in a different genre, the three Warhammer Horror Anthologies - Maledictions, Invocations and Anathemas - offer an excellent way to dive into the dark and gruesome worlds on offer, without requiring a huge investment in lore beforehand.

The Warhammer Adventures books come highly recommended for younger fans, especially the audiobook versions that are helmed by Doctor Who veterans Billie Piper and David Tennent. In fact, all of the Black Library audiobooks are incredible fun to listen to - so consider these above written books if your recipient is into their podcasts and audiobooks.

Knowledge required: Low to medium

Buy Horus Rising on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

5. Paints, brushes and tools

Playing is only half the hobby, so grab a brush and get painting

Warhammer hobbyists will always need brushes, and they’ll probably appreciate paints and various other hobbying accoutrements, too.

There are plenty of places to get started with painting miniatures, including a few sets that include both Citadel paints and models. For the uninitiated, Citadel is Games Workshop’s own in-house brand, useful if you’re starting out and want to follow the many guides the publisher makes available on YouTube.

If you want a more expansive set, however, there are plenty of alternatives such as Army Painter and Vallejo. If you really want to treat someone, Vallejo’s collection of metal colours will set them up for life with metallics - an often notoriously temperamental paint due to patchy covering that Vallejo has solved in a range that has excellent coverage and rarely needs thinning.

Similarly, the Essential Citadel Brush Selection covers every brush you’ll need for a lifetime of painting, especially if they’re cared for with some Master’s Brush Soap.

For those painters in your life who are thinking of taking things to the next level, Artis Opus offers some exquisite premium brush sets. If you’re still struggling, a wet palette is always a winner, with Redgrass and Army Painter both offering affordable versions.

Knowledge required: Low

Buy Vallejo Metal Color on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

6. Terrain, basing and markers

A battlefield isn’t complete without a smattering of scenery

Although it’s impossible to truly ‘complete’ a Warhammer collection, there are definitely people who have bought one of everything, and you might be at a complete loss as to what gift to buy them.

Luckily there are a few things that aren’t Space Marines that you can never have enough of. Warhammer supports a fecundity of skulls on its models, but you can always add more if you buy the Citadel Skulls box, which is perfect for basing models. Gamers Grass offers a wide range of incredible grass tufts and basing bits, a must-have for any modeller.

Beyond this, any Citadel terrain is a fantastic pick. Though it’s codified for each setting, most of it can be used cross-system in a pinch, so it’s hard to go wrong. The smaller bundles, such as the Sector Imperialis Ruins and Azyrite Ruins, make great little battlefield additions for Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar respectively.

Most players will likely appreciate a set of objective markers. They’re useful in a large number of different games, are a solid choice for budding converters - as they can be utilised in various conversions - and can even be used as scatter terrain for various games, so you can’t go wrong.

Knowledge required: None

Buy Warhammer 40,000: Sector Imperialis Ruins terrain set on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

7. Warhammer merchandise

After you’ve played dress-up with your minis, you can adorn yourself with Warhammer-related gear

Perhaps in the end you don’t want to encroach on your recipient’s hobbying habits. In that case, some merchandise might be the best gift option.

Games Workshop recently branched into official merch, buying up companies that make a variety of things and bringing them all under one roof at Warhammer Merchandise. Fair warning: the quality of the designs varies from the rather banal - there are far too many pieces of army book art plastered on cushions and T-shirts - to the actually quite excellent. The new Blood Angels T-shirts wouldn’t actually look out of place in a High Street shop, perfect for the fan who likes a wry nod rather than an overt signal.

Whilst the posters section is perhaps best avoided unless you're buying for the most ardent of fans with a dedicated gaming room, the Warhammer Art store is actually quite classy, featuring various canvases and prints of famous artwork such as John Blanche’s Black Templars - the ultimate summation of the world of 40k - and the utterly iconic Rogue Trader cover by John Sibbick.

We can recommend the Ultimate Pin Badge Bundle for an easy win, or maybe even a mug for their favourite faction - which can serve double duty as a receptacle for paint water. We’re also very keen on the Tyranid Leggings.

Knowledge required: None

Buy the Ultimate Pin Badge Bundle on the Warhammer Merchandise store.