Fallout: Wasteland Warfare — Complete Starter Guide and Faction Overview
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare is one of the most fully realised licensed miniatures games currently available. It takes the post-apocalyptic world of the Fallout video game series — the Survivors picking through the ruins, the Brotherhood of Steel in their power armour, the Super Mutants, Raiders, Institute Synths, Robots and the irradiated creatures of the wasteland — and translates it into a tabletop skirmish game that plays equally well as a competitive two-player encounter, a co-operative mission or a solo campaign against AI-controlled opposition. This guide covers how the game works, what you need to get started, which faction suits which playstyle, and what to buy first.
UK and EU customers shop at modiphius.net using coupon code SCALEMOTION. North American customers use modiphius.us with the same code.
How Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Works
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare is a 32mm scale skirmish game for 1–2 players (or more in co-operative mode). Games are played with crews of 3 to 30 miniatures depending on the mission type, on a table that represents the irradiated wasteland with scatter terrain, ruined buildings and iconic Fallout scenery pieces. The game uses a custom dice system — the Fallout dice — rather than standard D6s, and the results drive a card-based action and event system that produces narrative outcomes as well as tactical results.
The game supports three distinct play modes. Player vs Player is the standard competitive format — two crews face off in a scenario with defined objectives. Co-operative allows two players to work together against AI-controlled opposition, using the game's AI deck to drive enemy behaviour. Solo removes the second player entirely, with one player running a crew against a fully AI-controlled opposing force. The solo mode is one of the strongest in any miniatures game currently on the market and is a significant reason for the game's sustained community following.
Between missions, crews develop through a campaign system: Caps recovered in the wasteland are spent on perks, weapons, gear and upgrades for the next encounter. Settlement building adds another layer — your crew's base develops over a campaign, affecting their army list options and abilities.
What You Need to Start
The entry point for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare is the Two Player Starter Set. This box contains everything required to play the game:
- 13 pre-assembled multi-part hardened PVC miniatures — a Survivors crew and a Super Mutants force, both ready to play straight from the box without assembly
- The complete Fallout: Wasteland Warfare rulebook
- Over 120 cards covering units, AI behaviour, items, quests, perks, leaders, events and more
- Fallout custom dice
- Tokens and terrain cards
- A selection of missions covering training, tournament, AI and narrative formats
The PVC miniatures in the starter set come pre-assembled and need only painting — or can be used as-is if you want to get playing immediately. For builders who want the highest quality versions of the same figures, Modiphius also produces a Resin Two Player Starter Models set containing the same miniatures in multi-part high-quality resin, which can be purchased to replace or supplement the PVC versions.
The starter set is genuinely self-contained. Unlike many miniatures games where the starter set points you immediately at additional purchases before you can play a full game, the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare starter set includes a complete rulebook and enough cards and tokens to play all mission types without further purchases.
The Factions — Who Should You Play?
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare covers more factions than any other current licensed miniatures game. Each has a distinct playstyle, aesthetic and strategic identity. The main factions currently available as Faction Core Sets are:
Survivors
The Survivors are the default human faction — pre-war vault dwellers, wasteland settlers and scavengers trying to rebuild in the aftermath of nuclear war. They are the most flexible crew in the game, with access to the widest variety of weapons, gear and character types. Their card pool is the deepest of any faction, giving experienced players the most customisation options. The Survivors are included in the Two Player Starter Set and are the recommended starting faction for new players. The Survivors Faction Core Set expands the starter set figures with additional characters and options.
Super Mutants
Super Mutants are large, powerful and numerous — former humans transformed by the Forced Evolutionary Virus into hulking green-skinned creatures with immense physical strength. Their playstyle is aggressive and direct: they hit harder than most factions, take more punishment before going down, and their special units — the Hammer and the terrifying Suiciders — add tactical complexity through sheer threat. The Super Mutants are the opposing faction in the Two Player Starter Set. The Super Mutants Starter Bundle combines the Two Player Starter Set with the Super Mutants Core Box and Super Mutants: Hammer expansion at a saving over buying separately.
Brotherhood of Steel
The Brotherhood of Steel are an elite military organisation equipped with salvaged pre-war technology including power armour, energy weapons and vertibird air support. In game terms they are an elite faction — each individual Brotherhood figure is significantly more expensive in points than equivalent Survivor or Super Mutant models, meaning you field fewer models but each one is substantially more capable. Their aesthetic is iconic — the T-60 power armour is one of the most recognisable images in the Fallout franchise — and they reward careful, positioning-focused play. The Brotherhood of Steel Faction Core Set is the recommended starting point for this faction.
Raiders
Raiders are the most numerous and aggressive of the human enemy factions — desperate, violent scavengers who prey on other wasteland inhabitants. In the game they function as a horde faction: individually weaker than Brotherhood or Survivor figures, but fielded in larger numbers and with access to veterans who have pieced together scrap power armour. The Raiders Faction Core Set is a strong option for players who enjoy outnumbering and surrounding their opponents.
Institute
The Institute — the mysterious organisation producing Synth androids — is one of the most distinctive factions in the game aesthetically and mechanically. Their Synth forces are unpredictable, with abilities that reflect the uncanny nature of synthetic life. The Institute Faction Core Set contains 8 high quality resin miniatures with unique scenic bases — the resin production quality is notably higher than the PVC starter set figures.
Creatures and Robots
Outside the human and humanoid factions, Fallout: Wasteland Warfare also covers the iconic creatures and robots of the wasteland — Deathclaws, Radscorpions, Molerats, Assaultrons, Protectrons and Sentry Bots among others. These are primarily used as AI-controlled opposition in solo and co-operative missions, though they can also be fielded as part of mixed crews in some mission formats.
Fallout: Factions — The Parallel System
Modiphius also produces Fallout: Factions — a separate, more streamlined skirmish game set in the same universe. Where Wasteland Warfare is a full campaign wargame with crew development, settlement building and a deep card system, Fallout: Factions is a faster-playing crew skirmish game with hard plastic miniatures and simpler starter sets. The two games are distinct products but share the Fallout licence and some thematic overlap. For players who want a quicker, more accessible entry into Fallout tabletop gaming, Factions is worth considering alongside Wasteland Warfare.
A Note on the Second Edition
In March 2026 Modiphius announced a second edition of Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, including a new Warbands Starter Set expected in Q4 2026 containing PVC Survivor and Super Mutant models, tokens, cardboard scenery and a new main rulebook. The first edition Two Player Starter Set and existing miniatures remain available and fully playable. If you are considering starting the game now, the current starter set is the correct purchase — the second edition announcement does not invalidate existing product, and the existing miniature range will continue alongside the new releases.
What to Buy First
The recommended purchase sequence for a new Fallout: Wasteland Warfare player is straightforward. Start with the Two Player Starter Set — it contains everything you need to learn the game and play all mission types. Once you have played through the included missions and identified which faction appeals most, add the relevant Faction Core Set. If solo or co-operative play is your primary interest, add the Commonwealth Rules Expansion which significantly deepens the AI mission and campaign options.
Coupon code SCALEMOTION applies at both modiphius.net (UK/EU) and modiphius.us (US/Canada).
Browse the Catalogue
Looking for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures, tabletop RPGs and wargaming products? The Scale & Motion Plus curated catalogue organises products by category, all linking directly to verified retailers.
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Further Reading
- Warhammer 40,000 Starter Sets — Understanding the First Step Into the Hobby — if Wasteland Warfare has you interested in miniatures games more broadly, this covers the other major entry point in the hobby.
- How to Choose Your First Warhammer 40,000 Army Box — faction selection thinking that applies equally to choosing a Wasteland Warfare crew.
- Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol Boxes — Which One Should You Buy? — for players interested in a second miniatures game alongside Wasteland Warfare.
Image Credit: Modiphius Entertainment product imagery. All product images © Modiphius Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks.
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