Space Marines vs Necrons: which 40K army should you start?
The two Leviathan-box rivals: Space Marines are the elite, best-supported all-rounder; Necrons are the durable, beginner-friendly reanimators. Here's how to choose.
SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly — always confirm against the current official rules and your latest dataslate before a game.
Space Marines and Necrons headline the Warhammer 40,000 launch box for a reason — they're the poster factions for the Imperium and their ancient robotic nemesis. Both are excellent starting armies. This guide compares them on playstyle, difficulty, painting, and cost so you can pick the right one.
Go deeper in the Space Marines and Necrons how-to-play guides.
The quick answer
- Pick Space Marines for the iconic elite all-rounder with the most tutorials, opponents, and kits — flexible, forgiving, and endlessly customisable by chapter.
- Pick Necrons for a durable, low-stress army that reanimates its dead, plays a straightforward attrition game, and paints to a great standard fast.
Both are top-tier beginner choices — this really comes down to sci-fi-knights vs undying-robots aesthetics.
Playstyle
Space Marines are elite: few, tough, versatile models that do a bit of everything (shooting, melee, mobility) and lean on the Oath of Moment focus-fire mechanic. Necrons are the durable attrition army — slower, resilient, and defined by Reanimation Protocols returning slain models. Marines reward flexible, aggressive play; Necrons reward patient, grinding board control.
Difficulty to learn
Both are forgiving, but Necrons edge it for pure beginners: reanimation softens mistakes and the gameplan is simple. Space Marines are also forgiving and have vastly more learning resources and opponents, which makes getting help easy. Neither is a trap.
Painting
Necrons are famously fast to paint — a metallic base, a wash, and a drybrush gets a table-ready army quickly. Space Marines are beginner-friendly too, but a full chapter scheme (edge highlights, transfers) takes longer to look crisp. If painting speed matters, Necrons win.
Cost to start
Both start with a Combat Patrol at a similar price — compare live prices for Combat Patrol: Necrons and the Space Marines Combat Patrol on their pages. Space Marines have a larger range to (optionally) expand into; Necrons are a tighter, cheaper-to-complete range.
So which one?
Love gothic sci-fi super-soldiers and want maximum support + customisation → Space Marines. Want the most forgiving, fastest-to-paint, low-stress start (and love undying robots) → Necrons. You genuinely can't go wrong; buy the one whose models you'd rather paint.
Common questions
Are Space Marines or Necrons better for beginners?
Both are excellent; Necrons edge it for pure beginners (reanimation forgives mistakes, fast to paint), while Space Marines have far more tutorials and opponents. Pick the aesthetic you prefer — sci-fi knights vs undying robots.
Which is easier to paint, Space Marines or Necrons?
Necrons — a metallic base, wash, and drybrush produces a great-looking army fast. Space Marines look superb but a crisp chapter scheme takes longer.
Do Space Marines and Necrons come in the same box?
They're the two factions in the Warhammer 40,000 launch box (Leviathan), which is one way to get both — but each also has its own Combat Patrol as the standard single-faction starting point.
Written by SprueSentry with SprueSentry editorial (hand-authored, research-grounded), grounded in the cited sources — original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.