When you first start playing wargames, your battlefields are usually made up of random household objects to break up the battlefield and provide some scenery for your forces to fight between. Over time, you might buy dedicated scenery, spending time assembling and painting different kits to capture the feel of the battlefield you want. That is time that should be spent gaming, or planning the list that will table your opponent. But now you can have that time back, with Games Workshop's new Battlefields box, with everything you need, in one speedy deployment package. We check out Warhammer 40K Battlefields: Armageddon, seeing what's inside the box, and how quickly you can get it set up on your tabletop.

If you want to know more about Warhammer 40K, you can check out our guide to getting started with Combat Patrol, how to get started with the new 40K Starter Sets, or our recent coverage of the new 11th Edition Adeptus Custodes.

Battlefield In A Box

The Battlefields: Armageddon box is a complete Warhammer 40K battlefield in a box, with everything 2 players need to fight games up to 2000 points a side comfortably. It contains:

• 28x pieces of scenery, split between 2 identical boxes, for a total of:
  • 8x Large Manufactorum Ruins
  • 8x Small Manufactorum Ruins
  • 2x Shock Arrays
  • 2x Capacitor Stacks
  • 4x Rockcrete Barricades
  • 2x Generator Shrines
  • 4x Galvanic Pylons
• 2x double-sided games boards
• 16x terrain area footprint pieces

With the above contents, the set can set up any mission in the Chapter Approved 26-27 Mission Deck, which most competitive and friendly 40K games use, and because it uses 2 game boards and 2 sets of scenery, it can also be used to play 2 games of Combat Patrol side by side if playing a small tournament in your house.

But how fast is the Battlefields: Armageddon Ready Painted Terrain in getting from box to the tabletop? We got the whole box, all 28 pieces of scenery out and assembled in about 90 mins (but you should probably take more time on the cleanup if using a hobby blade). All you need to do is remove the pieces from the sprue, then clean them up, slot them together, and they're ready. No glue required, no painting at all.

I was surprised that even after cleaning the sprue connections, the scenery clears to an almost basecoat level with the paint. I thought I was going to have to paint over the connecting areas once cleaned to get them to match, but even with a quick clean if time to the tabletop is your goal, they look awesome. Getting a clean finish will take more time, but will still require little effort once that's done.

You can get a fully painted scenery battlefield from purchase to tabletop in under 2 hours, and then because the pieces are push-fit, if you wanted, you can pack away for storage and then reassemble another day very quickly. The paint is also of a very decent standard, with detail picked out across the whole set, including lights with yellow glare around them, caution signs on the doors, and glows of electricity. 

I'm assuming, and hoping, that Battlefields is a new range from Games Workshop, and that we'll see more combat zones featured after the : in future Battlefields boxes as we explore more of the 40K universe.

Warhammer 40K Battlefields: Armageddon Final Thoughts?

Warhammer 40K Battlefields: Armageddon ready painted terrain is going to be a game changer for a lot of people. Those without the time or skill to paint can have an immersive battlefield very quickly that looks incredible. For tournament organisers, stores and clubs, this set will not only save them valuable time, but also fits perfectly with the competitive mission packs, allowing extremely fast, balanced games that look fantastic, and can be set up with the minimum of hobby experience.

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The copy of Warhammer 40K Battlefields: Armageddon used to produce this review was provided by Games Workshop.