STARTING A SALAMANDERS ARMY IN 11TH EDITION: FORGED IN FLAME, PAINTED IN PATIENCE
If you want an army that rewards patient painting and punishes nothing, the Salamanders are the warmest welcome 11th edition has to offer. The Fire-born are the humane heart of the Space Marines — slow to anger, fiercely protective of ordinary people, and obsessed with craftsmanship, which makes them the natural chapter for anyone who actually enjoys the making as much as the playing. Their deep green armour with black trim is a wonderfully forgiving scheme, and every flame effect you learn will get used a dozen times over, because this chapter never met a problem it couldn't set on fire.
Light the first fire
Start with the current Space Marine starter or Combat Patrol-style box — these rotate, so check what is on shelves rather than chasing an older set. Whatever the contents, you want two things early: a squad of Intercessors as your dependable backbone, and an Infernus Squad, because flamer-armed Marines are the most Salamanders thing in the entire catalogue. Add the Salamanders upgrade sprue and transfer sheet so your shoulder pads and iconography look the part from the first model. A quick word on timing: points and datasheets were refreshed for 11th edition, so check current points before you build a list — but none of that changes what a good first box looks like.
Stoking the forge
Your second wave should lean into the chapter's signature: short-ranged, brutally hot firepower. Aggressors are the classic pick — big armoured bruisers who look magnificent in green — and Eradicators bring the melta weapons the Fire-born adore. A Captain or Lieutenant gives the force a leader while you decide which named hero calls to you. Paint as you go; three finished squads teach you more about your scheme than six grey ones ever will.
The masterpiece on the anvil
Every Salamanders collection eventually gathers around Vulkan He'stan, the Forgefather — a gorgeous single model draped in a drake-scale cloak, and a joy to paint slowly. For something bigger, a Redemptor Dreadnought is a centrepiece and a painting masterclass in one, and the Land Raider Redeemer, with its flamestorm sponsons, might be the most on-brand tank any chapter has ever fielded. Pick one, finish it properly, and let it anchor the display shelf.
Recommended: Land Raider Redeemer
Purchases to defer
- A second Land Raider before the first has tracks painted; even Vulkan finished one project at a time.
- Every flamer-adjacent unit in the range at once — the forge is eternal, your hobby budget is not.
- Named characters beyond He'stan until you have played enough games to know who you actually want leading.
Tend the forge ledger
The Salamanders are famous for craftsmanship, and craftsmanship starts with knowing exactly what is on your workbench. Log each kit the day it arrives and mark it honestly as boxed, built, or finished — the Fire-born would never leave a blade half-forged and unrecorded, and neither should you. There is a quiet motivation in watching the finished column glow brighter month by month, like coals in the forge. When you want the full sweep of what the chapter can field, from Infernus Marines to the Forgefather himself, the Salamanders faction page under Data has the complete unit catalogue waiting.