40k what army should i play

The Ultramarines are the pillars of civilization within the Space Marines: Their homeworld sector is almost an Imperium within the Imperium, carefully planned and protected, and home to some of the most manageable standards of living for humans in the galaxy.

At the moment, the Ultramarines are also the only Space Marine chapter able to field their Primarch ancestor leader in battle: Roboute Guilliman see the image above is a massive warrior and the de facto leader of the military efforts of all of humanity at the moment, and also an amazing painting project if you want to field him in your army. In short, Ultramarines are basically Space Ancient Romans or Space Ancient Greeks, and even though veterans of the game will call them boring or vanilla Marines, they are a good place to start if you want to feel like your army is part of the ongoing story of Warhammer 40, They do have a really nice Imperial Fists Primaris Upgrades and Transfers pack available with some cool power fists for your Imperial Fists sergeants as you have probably figured out by now, they have a whole fist theme going on.

An important thing to note about the Imperial Fists is that they are the forefathers of two of the most popular Successor Chapters in the range: The Crimson Fists and the Black Templars. The Crimson Fists are blue with you guessed it red fists, and have a rich history of iconic artwork made for Warhammer 40, publications, so you may run into veteran players who are very fond of them.

The Black Templars are an eternally crusading force of Space Marines in black, white and red, and they have quite a few specific pre-Primaris miniatures available to them. For beginners, they also have the great advantage of being the only Space Marine Chapter to have all their rules available in the Warhammer 40, app without the user having to buy any codexes.

They are currently a very up to date chapter, since they have both a Codex Supplement: Dark Angels available with all the rules they need in addition to the Codex: Space Marines , and a dedicated Combat Patrol: Dark Angels box available with all the units, upgrade bits and transfers needed to field a Combat Patrol-level army of Dark Angels Space Marines.

In addition to all this, the Dark Angels also have some interesting special units such as the Deathwing Knights or their Ravenwing flyers. The Blood Angels, clad almost entirely in red, are also a very up to date Chapter.

They are especially known for their cursed bloodline, which means they are always at risk of succumbing to a raging madness, so that those inflicted by it are sent to seek swift death on the battlefield in a Death Company before they are completely consumed by the rage.

The Iron Hands are clad in all black, and are easily recognisable by their mechanical arms, as they practice the art of perfection through replacing body parts with mechanical implants, as you can see on Iron Father Feirros on the image above this paragraph.

They are a very up to date army with a newly released Codex Supplement: Space Wolves and a Combat Patrol: Space Wolves box available to help you build a Combat Patrol force and play it with all the additional rules you need. The White Scars, clad in almost all white with red trim, are masters of fast assaults, often on armed motorbikes such as the Outriders. They have a distinct medieval Mongolian vibe to their aesthetic, with curved swords and chainswords, shaved heads with locks of black hair, and some horse and eagle iconography as you can see on their leader Kor-Sarro Khan above who sadly seems to be out of production at the moment of writing this article.

They do have a White Scars Primaris Upgrades and Transfers pack available with a couple of cool curved chainswords. They currently do not have an updated Codex Supplement, so you can just use the Codex: Space Marines rules found for them in that book.

You might want to wait until they get their 9th edition upgrade. They specialise in hunting down aliens called xenos in the Warhammer 40, universe.

They are currently a very up to date army, with a Codex Supplement: Deathwatch available with all the rules you need in addition to the Codex: Space Marines, and a Combat Patrol: Deathwatch box to help you easily build a Combat Patrol-sized Deathwatch force. One of the coolest things about the Deathwatch is their ability to field Kill Teams: Mixed units of different types of Space Marines from different combat roles or chapters.

You can buy some boxes of non-Primaris Kill Teams, such as the Kill Team Cassius , which are full of miniatures that still look great if a bit small , or you can build your own Kill Teams from various Primaris units.

So in that regards they are very different from all other brands of Space Marines out there. Instead, they have their own range of generally good quality silver-clad psychic warriors who hunt the worst horrors of Chaos. On top of all these different Chapters, there are also many other Successor Chapters that have color schemes and lore available, but no special units or codex supplements. These are just played with the Codex: Space Marines rules. Below are all the armies that defend humanity, but are not Space Marines.

They are as diverse as they come, from the pretty regular humans fighting in the trenches for the Astra Militarum to the almost-robotic Adeptus Mechanicus and the Adeptus Custodes which are almost more Space Marine-esque than the Space Marines themselves.

This section goes through each army and explains how to get started with them, and how up to date they are for the current edition. The Astra Militarum is the standing army of the Imperium, made up of billions of volunteers and conscripts. They have a very detailed history with many planet-specific regiments and special forces, and they generally offer a more down to earth point of view of the Warhammer 40, universe than what you get as a Space Marine player.

They are also a fun army to collect because of the vast variations in scale across the army, from lowly footsoldiers to fortress-like tanks. The Astra Militarum has not been updated for 9th edition yet, so you are stuck with finding their rules in the app or playing with an outdated codex at the moment.

For this reason, you might want to wait for an update until you start building an Astra Militarum army for competitive purposes a new codex is bound to shake things up massively.

The Astra Militarum have two Start Collecting! Astra Militarum box gives you an infantry squad, a character, a heavy weapons squad and an iconic Leman Russ battle tank, which really sums up the essence of what a classic Astra Militarum army can look like. The Start Collecting: Militarum Tempestus box gives you 10 Tempestus Scions, where 5 of them can be assembled as a command squad, a Comissar character and a Taurox Prime transport, making for a more elite Astra Militarum force.

If you would like a break from all the hypermasculine armies of the Imperium, and you like all the history and iconography of the religious part of Imperial life in Warhammer 40,, they might be just the army for you. The Adepta Sororitas miniatures range is very up to date, having received an almost complete overhaul just prior to the release of 9th edition.

Everything from core Troops such as the Battle Sisters Squad to the flying pulpit for Junith Eruita and the beautiful diorama The Triumph of Saint Katherine are brand-new, very detailed plastic sculpts that are very coherent in style — and there are even more new miniatures coming over the next few months which means their new codex is probably not far away, either. The Adeptus Custodes are genetically enhanced supersoldiers charged with protecting the home of the Emperor on Terra the Earth , but in recent editions, they have joined the war effort across the galaxy.

They are golden-clad, hyper-elite warriors, so AOS Stormcast Eternals players will feel right at home aesthetically. The Adeptus Mechanicus is the technological branch of the Imperium.

The Adeptus Mechanicus miniatures range is very up to date, with some new miniatures having come out just last year, and the rest of the range is in a good shape as well. The Start Collecting! Adeptus Mechanicus box comes with an infantry unit, a Tech-Priest Enginseer and a Transport, which makes it a good starting point for a Patrol Detachment. The Imperial Knights hail from feudal worlds where nobles control their mighty mechs like mechanised knights in shining armour.

The Imperial Knights range is very up to date, and if you like the iron giant aesthetic, all the miniatures are really cool. In addition to the armies that have a codex or are going to get one soon , there are several other Imperium factions that can be included in various detachments. The armies of Chaos are the great antagonists of the Imperium. While not getting nearly as much attention as the Space Marines in terms of releases, the forces of Chaos are just as iconic a part of Warhammer 40, as the Space Marines.

In this section we cover the factions and legions that you can field for the Armies of Chaos, and which of them that are sufficiently up to date to start playing right now. The Chaos Space Marines are evil if you ask the Imperium! In many ways their strategies mirror the Space Marines with infantry in power armor, mobile divisions and specific rules for specific legions, but they add many special unit types to the mix and have very different weapon loadouts.

At the moment, they are an umbrella faction that might later turn into several armies with their own codexes, but you can field them as a number of subfactions such as the Night Lords, World Eaters or the Alpha Legion, each with their own rules and lore, but without the full attention of a codex. They have received some substantial updates in recent years, but the miniatures range is still pretty uneven.

The Chaos Space Marines miniatures range is a strange mix of very up to date and completely outdated. On the one hand, recent years have seen the release of an awesome new Chaos Space Marines infantry box and a slew of other upgrades to important units in the army, as well as the terrifying Abaddon the Despoiler depicted above.

On the other hand, iconic units of the various subfactions such as a Night Lords Chaos Lord or Khorne Berzerkers are very old and look like absolute farts, so what looks cool when you browse the rules in the Warhammer 40, app rules-wise might not look good on the tabletop at all. Chaos Space Marines box has an infantry unit, a psyker character, some special units and a scary spider monster machine the Venomcrawler and is a good place to start if you want very recent sculpts at a reasonable price.

Be aware that there are other ways of playing Chaos Space Marines, though: Some Chaos Legions have their own codexes and their own miniatures range, which you can see just below this paragraph. They are a very resilient army that will just keep going no mattter what you throw at them, with various disease-based abilities at their disposal. Rules-wise, the Death Guard is the most up to date Chaos army. They have recently received a Codex: Death Guard for 9th edition with all the rules you need to play them.

The Death Guard miniatures range is very up to date, since they were the main antagonists of the beginning of the previous edition of Warhammer 40, They have their own dedicated Space Marines in the shape of Plague Marines , as well as the zombie-like Poxwalkers, the artillery Plagueburst Crawler , their Primarch Mortarion pictured at the top of this section, and many more nauseating and fearsome miniatures.

Poxwalkers a Typhus character and a Biologus Putrifier, which makes for a very cool starting force. An army of your brothers. All united in faith of your blood line and to your family.

You fight to keep your race alive in a hostile universe. You are a commander with multiple awards, badges, and honors across your chest. Then men that serve under you serve you loyally While your soldiers are not especially strong or smart, you have overwhelming numbers and a huge compliment of tanks and artillery at your command.

You can drown the enemy in bodies and explosive shells. You are dark and twisted. Once valiant warriors, you and your army have been turned to set of depraved and corrupted values. You worship demonic entities which have granted you unthinkable and fearsome powers. You bring terror to any enemy you face.

You once ruled the galaxy. Now, you are a dying race. Your numbers dwindle while your enemies flourish. Though on the brink of extinction, you wield the most powerful weapons in the galaxy and exhibit some of the best discipline of any army. You live for thousands of year and you are quick to sacrifice a hundred enemy worlds to save just a handful of your precious soldiers. Space pirates and savage beasts, you once came from prestigious families and life blood.

Now, you harass and infiltrate as easily as you eat and drink. You are cruel and ruthless in an unforgiving galaxy and do not hesitate to cheat, lie, and steal your way to victory. Horde factions can be played in a more elite manner, not just swarming the enemy. There is no best army for Warhammer 40K.

What was once a very weak can become the strong, and the previously strongest shuffled to the bottom. This is yet another reason to choose an army you like the looks of, and one that suits your style.

That being said, any of the Adeptus Astartes Space Marines is a good place to start. Space Marines are a a very solid army, good at everything, and a lot of the units are similar, in turn making it easy to learn the army.

Astra Militarum Imperial Guard also make a good starting army. This might have been your first step, usually is, talking to other players. From there we start looking at armies, often armed with some knowledge. Regardless of which order you go through, the below is useful information. Once you have a general idea of the Warhammer 40K armies you enjoy, talking with other players will help you cement your choice.

The game has a lot of fine details, and an experienced player can help guide you to an army. For example, there are a handful of Warhammer 40K armies in the game that really do well with close combat, but how each one approaches it will vary.

Orks will often try to drown the enemy in numbers and swarm forward where Grey Knights can use more elite assault units and fewer models. Some factions will favor certain tactics, like stealth and speed, where others are more direct. There is no better way to get all this information on the different armies for 40K than experienced players.

If all else fails, hit up the internet. You can find some great communities that are friendly to new players. You can also try your luck with groups on Facebook, though I find they move to fast to be of much use.

There are a lot of blogs dedicated to one particular army, or a few Warhammer 40K armies. Some of those blogs will have some great information, and some authors will be kind enough to help you out if you post a comment. For example, I would gladly help anyone out interested in Chaos Space Marines. With a little luck you can find some awesome blogs that might already have answers to your questions.

I do also have a rather extensive list of wargaming bloggers you can check out, as well as a list of top wargaming bloggers I recommend reading. Bear in mind that everyone has their preferences and their own personal experiences when giving advice on Warhammer 40K armies. Eldar can be seen as overpowered to one person, but someone else will say how balanced they are.

Experiences and perception will impact advice given, so do not rely on a single source of information for this reason. Choosing the right army for yourself will make a huge difference in how you perceive the game.

Power level is in a constant state of flux. A new codex, or rules release, can move a strong army from the top to the bottom. If you start with something you like the looks of, and it fits your play style, then you will find the game far more enjoyable and rewarding. There are ebbs and flows in the game of 40K, and having an army that fits you will make riding those waves easier and less noticeable.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. That is a pretty good break down, bravo. I find that while I am loving my Thousand Sons and I am less thrilled about the idea of doing anymore power armour.

For starters they make up too much of the armies around as is. Thanks for the article though. Food for thought. OH and sadly Adam is taking a break from his Space Wolves blog, per his latest post. Painting Marines eventually becomes an exercise in patience. I love them but it get monotonous pretty quickly. I saw that with Adam.

I will be adding some Tzeentch Daemons to my force eventually to help even out the non-marine models. How the army is to paint should be a factor.

Chaos Marines in particular are the one of the fiddliest armies with all that trim, but can at least look good with a fairly dark low contrast effect. I suspect Tau are the least forgiving to paint, though quicker than Chaos Marines. Good points. I suppose depending on the style you are going for and the look any army can be quick or slow. Apart from Harlequins. That way lies madness.

Good luck with that. I would agree with that. Most painters, myself included, tend to take more artistic leeways with weapons than aiming for realistic.

I see it as a consideration but only of value in a few situations. That way, even if your army gets throttled in an update, at least you have an awesome collection of models to look at! So very true.

At the same time though it can make you very sad to see your favorite models get killed. I mean, Blood for the Blood God!

Yep and in turn effects all aspects of the game. A lack of interest in any one thing will impact how you feel about the hobby, your army and the game. Great stuff. I started all my armies by going on what I loved the look of, and do that still to this day with other gaming systems.

The dark city is a great resource for any dark eldar player. A very friendly forum with lots of good tactical advice and hobby stuff tok :. I do it with ever game too, pick what I think looks cool.

As for the mechanicus and skitarii. A semi elite army that can excel at both shooting and assault for a limited time each game. They are glass cannons like dark elder and require finesse as most the models are not tough, the army tends to be static as it lacks transports. It is not the best first army due to huge Stat line variety and huge differentiation in unit rules.

That said the army is very internally balanced, and most units have few options, so any unit you buy and field because it looks cool will be useful. Skip picking an army for the first 6 months.

Just play the vanilla space marine codex. Borrow from a friend or buy cheap messed up models off eBay. Learn to play the game. They are redably available off eBay or friends for very cheap. Especially those coated to death in primer. Once you start to really grasp how the game is played you can use the above method to pick a cool looking army that can build a force to match how you like to play. It requires a lot of time and patience. Especially if you can spend some time using a loaner army.

I find this is a good way for me to start this game. I got one question it is necessary to buy the new codex or I can go for the past versions? You would need the latest version. I want to see what army looks coolest. Anyone got any good links so I can see all of the armies?

The guide was helpful BTW. Orks are predominantly a melee army. The army in general functions on the principle of quantity over quality. Orks also have fun stuff like fast, cheap vehicles to deliver the Boyz into combat. You can see how everything looks and see exactly what they have for models. He has chosen space marines as his army so I was wondering which army would I could choose that would result in repeated varied and even games between the two of us.

I like the look of the chaos daemons. Thanks I advance. You could do a Nidzilla style Tyranid army that focuses on the monstrous creatures. Now I think about it, honestly most armies can be built in a way to have minimal models, so it really comes down to you preference like playstyle and aesthetics.

However, Daemons are a pretty classic grudge match with Marines. Thanks for the swift response! Is there an issue with, say for instance, space Marines fighting the Mechanicus or imperial guard who appear to a total noob like me, to be allies? Maybe your Imperial Guard are traitors or renegades. Could be they were fighting on a planet, called for support from the local Marine chapter, and they never responded.

Those Imperial Guard saved themselves at a heavy cost and now resent the Imperium. Nice article! Clear and concise! Any further tips to decide which one to go for? Harlequins are a very small army. No problem and have fun.