STARTING AN AGENTS OF THE IMPERIUM ARMY IN 11TH EDITION: THE EMPEROR'S OWN CONSPIRACY
Agents of the Imperium are a conspiracy of Inquisitors, assassins and rogue traders, usually fielded alongside another Imperial army rather than alone. This page covers the Inquisitor and retinue to start with, the assassins, and what a centrepiece means with no war engines.
Begin with an Inquisitor
There is no dependable Combat Patrol entry point, so begin with a protagonist. An Inquisitor is the classic choice, a named character like Greyfax or Draxus, or a generic Inquisitor you make your own. Around them, pick one retinue-shaped squad: an Exaction Squad of Adeptus Arbites enforcers, Voidsmen-at-Arms, or a Rogue Trader entourage like the Elucidian Starstriders. One leader plus one squad is a playable start and an absurdly fun painting project, because nothing has to match. Try a trench-coat leather recipe on the Arbites, naval blue on the Voidsmen, gold braid on the rogue trader. Skills learned here transfer to every army you ever own.
A second retinue and an assassin
- A second retinue in a different flavour: Arbites if you started naval, Voidsmen if you started with enforcers.
- An Officio Assassinorum operative, Vindicare, Eversor, Callidus or Culexus. Each is a single spectacular model and a weekend's joyful painting.
- Imperial Navy Breachers, if you want armoured boarding parties with real presence.
Recommended: Vindicare Assassin
Recommended: Imperial Navy Breachers
A diorama in place of a war engine
Agents do not do giant war engines, so your centrepiece is a diorama in spirit: a beautifully painted Inquisitor on a scenic base, a Rogue Trader entourage displayed as a crew, or an assassin frozen mid-leap. Lean into basing and storytelling; this faction wins painting cabinets, every model is a character piece, every squad has a story, and no two Agents collections look alike. If you crave something huge, that is the signal to pick the parent Imperial army your Agents will accompany.
Allied rules shift between updates
11th edition brought fresh points and datasheets, and the way allied agents slot into other Imperial forces is exactly the kind of detail that shifts between updates. Check the current rules and points before you build around any particular combination. The models keep looking gorgeous regardless.
Collect assassins like whisky
- A third Inquisitor before the first two have retinues.
- All four assassins at once. One at a time.
- Any purchase justified by a rules interaction you read about online. Rules move; paint jobs stay.
Files worthy of the Inquisition
An Inquisitor's power is their records. Log each kit as it arrives and mark it boxed, built or finished, with no charitable interpretations. A small elite collection deserves a spotless ledger, and it makes the moment everything reads "finished" achievable, which few 40k factions can offer. The complete roster, with each unit's history, is on the Agents of the Imperium faction page under Data.