Reviewing the new box set for 10th Edition 40k!
Welcome to today’s article as I review the Leviathan box set for Warhammer 40,000! This is the new 10th edition launch box featuring Space Marines vs Tyranids! First thanks goes to Games Workshop for providing this to review for free. As always I am to be honest, impartial and constructively critical.
What’s in the Box
This box is pretty huge and densely packed. Insider you get: 25 Space Marine miniatures, 47 Tyranid miniatures, the new 10th edition rule book, transfers, bases, transfers, building instructions with basic rules, competitive rules card pack and a global campaign sheet. It’s seriously a lot of content. You don’t get any dice or measuring sticks but considering the trade-off with all the miniatures you get, I think that’s pretty fair. Especially for £150.
The Rulebook
For the big book itself, it’s kinda weird. The new rulebook is 3 books combined into one. You get the narrative book, the core rules, then a crusade expansion book all included inside. What makes it weird is that they basically have separate numberings so you have 2 page 9s and so on. Just a very odd layout which confused me a lot at first.
Dark Imperium introduces you to the main narrative for Warhammer 40,000 including each faction. You get 2 pages detailing their lore and then another 2 following pages for their combat patrol. The combat patrol aspect is quite interesting considering they usually change every time an army gets an update, so inclusion here is nice if they don’t change when armies get new codexes.
As for the gameplay rules, they’re pretty straightforwards and clear. The addition/reapplying of universal special rules is a great sight. Gameplay is more simplified but still with some complexity, just not at the level we had at 9th edition. My main gripe, however, is that there is no centrally located page containing all the universal special rules, they only appear in the rules section they apply to. Really odd we don’t have a sheet explaining them all like back in old 40k and Horus Heresy. Maybe being saved for starter boxes but it feels like a big missed opportunity.
The Shadow Descends covers the narrative involving the new lore corresponding to the latest Tyranid Hivefleet. It covers the factions involved, notable battles, space maps, as well as a miniatures showcase.
Crusade rules return with a slight revamp. You get everything you need to play narrative games of Warhammer 40,000 along with missions too. Once again it’s pretty great for those players not focusing on playing competitively.
The Miniatures
The miniatures in the box are great, especially as they’re all brand new models. The Space Marine stuff is nice, new Terminators and Sternguard look great and will find a home in my Black Templars. My real love are for the Tyranid models. They’re all amazing and feel much more like the Tyranids in the artwork that have been shown off in the past years.
The new Tyranid models are pretty easy to paint as well and take contrast really well. My only major gripe is that Termagants are now on 28mm bases from 25mm bases despite actually being close to the same size. Not sure why they couldn’t be on 25mm bases but now leaves me with 80 Termagants on the wrong base size sigh.
Leviathan Overview
Overall I think Leviathan is pretty great. It’s the most interesting Warhammer 40,000 launch box we’ve seen in many years personally. I also like how all the sprues are broken up so a lot can be used in the future when the box is broken up.
Pros:
- Great selection of new miniatures for both the Space Marines and Tyranids
- Comes with the competitive card pack for matched play
- Extensive rulebook for the new edition
- Great value for the cost
- Added CRITS
Cons:
- Rulebook has quite a confusing layout
- No included rules in the box
- No dice or measuring tools so not too ideal for new players
So would I recommend Leviathan? Yeah, I think it’s a great box. Obviously preorders have all sold out but if you can find it at your local gaming store, then it’s definitely worth picking up if you want to get into the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. I’m happy with it for the Tyranid stuff alone but it’s once again another great box set from Games Workshop. Really good jumping on point for 10th edition too. While no rules inside, they’re all available for free online via the Warhammer Community website which is amazing.
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So until next time, no matter what edition of Warhammer 40,000 you’re starting with, remember you can always win as long as you can roll a crit!
Can You Roll A Crit? 