Which Warhammer 40k Armies are looking great this year?

You’ve spent weeks preparing for 9th edition, determining what armies are strongest and which ones you like to play, but let's take a step back and look at what armies look the best. After all, you’ve got to look good when you're destroying your adversaries. 

10. T’au Empire

A small force of T'au prepare to engage enemies forces from long range.

The T’au Empire was founded by the Ethereals who lead in the name of a philosophy called the Greater Good. The empire is a conglomerate of several intelligent Xeno races (Kroot, Vespid, Nicassar, Demiurg, and some Humans) that follow the Ethereals in the name of their philosophy.

Why the T’au Look Great

• If you’re a fan of Gundam and you happen to be into Warhammer 40k, look no further, T’au is the army for you
• The T’au are the most out of place looking army in 40k, so if you like to be a hipster, you might have found your favorite fighting force
• Favoring ranged firepower, and looking like robots, this army’s unique playstyle and aesthetic certainly catches the eye

9. Tyranids

A small force of Tyranids hunger to consume more bio-mass and grow their colony.

The Tyranids are a race of insectoid Xenos, controlled by hyper-intelligent hiveminds with the singular goal of accumulating biomass by consuming everything and everyone they can. The Tyranids are dedicated solely to their own survival and the propagation of their species. To them, all others are merely prey.

Why the Tyranids Look Great

• They have unique and interesting weapons, integrating and mimicking the weapons of fallen prey with their own biological twist, like the bio rifle
• They are able to grow armor as thick and resilient as the space marine’s ceramite naturally
• Their brutal and freakish looks appeal to the alien fan inside of you, with some vague similarities to the xenomorph

8. Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle)

A sister of battle denounces the heretic, the mutant and the Xenos as her comradeds scan the area for signs of enemies, bolters raised.

The Adepta Sororitas is an all-female military branch of the Ecclesiarchy, tasked with rooting out corruption and heresy from humanity. The members of the Adepta Sororitas are elite female warriors raised from infancy to worship the Emperor of mankind. Once engaged in battle, they will stop at nothing to purge the enemies of mankind and the Ecclesiarchy.

Why the Adepta Sororitas Look Great

• Their great-looking religiously-themed armor and stoicism make them a fearsome-looking foe
• Their tanks have literal churches on top of them
• They are so bad-ass that they can heft bolter rifles, the iconic weapon of the genetically enhanced Space Marines

7. Eldar Harlequins

Eldar Harlequins bound towards their enemies brandishing their blades and shuriken pistols with grace and finesse.

The Eldar Harlequins are a force of acrobatic fighters dressed in vibrant colors, making no distinction between war and art. They are keepers of the Black Library and serve the enigmatic Aeldari deity, the Laughing God. It is rumored that the Harlequins know the paths of the web ways in the warp like few others, able to navigate them with a particular skill.

Why the Harlequins Look Great

• Dressed in sleep multicolored garb and donning masks of terrifying visages, the Eldar are a unique sight to behold
• Their theatrical nature makes them a sight to behold in battle, as they view war as art
• Their unrivaled speed makes them a blur in battle. If you see them, you are likely already dead

6. Orks

A mass of Orks go to WAAAGH against an army of Space Marines.

The Orks are a savage war-loving humanoid species who possess traits of both animals and fungi. They are one of the greatest dangers to the galaxy, craving war and outnumbering all other sentient species. Orcs have mysterious psychic abilities that allow them to achieve seemingly impossible technological feats, simply by willing them into existence.

Why the Orks Look Great

• They are fun and messy, creating machinations of war that look like piles of scrap thrown together but miraculously work, and are quite effective. Red onez go fasta!
• They possess ridiculous-looking combi-weapons with over-the-top firepower
• Who doesn’t love playing as green-skinned maniacs, with nothing in mind but the next fight WAAAGH!!!!

5. Thousand Sons

Chaos-corrupt Thousand Sons prepare to wage war with their psychic prowess in colorful suits of Ceramite armor.

The Thousand Sons are a Space Marine traitor legion, sworn to the service of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of change, intrigue, and sorcery; an appropriate deity considering the Thousand Sons’ affinity towards sorcery and the accumulation of knowledge.

Why the Thousand Sons Look Great

• If you are a fan of Egyptian history, you will see the resemblance in the armor that they don and their names.
• The Thousand Sons employ many weapons of sorceress power, derived from the warp, and look bad-ass doing it.
• The Golden Trim and striped designs on their armor is pleasing to the eye, and a joy to paint and employ as your own army.

4. Blood Angels

A squad of Blood Angels Intercessors strike a pose in their handsome crimson Ceramite plate armor.

The Blood Angels are a loyalist Space Marine chapter with a tragic history, and no foreseeable mercy from the future. Their Primarch, Sanguinius was slain by the hand of the traitor Horus. Their gene-seed is corrupted by the Black Rage and the Red Thirst, granting them strength in battle when unleashed, yet hard to control. They lead lives of discipline, constantly fighting not to succumb to the darker desires woven into their gene-seed.

Why the Blood Angels Look Great

• Firstly, who doesn’t love the handsome, saturated red of their armor? 
• Favoring melee weapons like chainswords, when they succumb to the Black Rage or the Red Thirst, they become an unstoppable, albeit unpredictable, force to be reckoned with.
• Their angelic themed heraldry and the deep crimson of their armor make them appear as bloody angels of vengeance on the battlefield, seeking to honor the memory of their late Primarch, Sanguinius

3. Space Wolves

A Space Wolves captain leads his savage comrades into battle.

The Space Wolves are an often misunderstood loyalist Space Marine legion of savage warriors, rumored to have wolf DNA in their gene-seed. These brutal killers are led by the Primarch Leman Russ, the Emperor’s executioner. They know their place and do not get caught up in delusions of grandeur, content to act as the Emperor’s brutal hand of justice, even when it pits them against brothers, like the Thousand Sons after the Edict of Nikea.

Why the Space Wolves Look Great

• These noble and savage fighters favor up close and personal fighting, choosing to wield brutal chain swords and don battle mementos like bone charms or fur pelts.
• Their Norse-inspired aesthetic is a pleasure to behold.
• Wild hairstyles, beards, and beautiful blue shades on their armor make them a pleasure to paint and employ as your fighting force!

2. Death Guard 

A disgustingly handsome squad of Death Guard warriors move to engage their adversaries.

The Death Guard are a traitor Space Marine legion led by the Primarch Mortarian. They worship the Chaos god of decay and new life, Nurgle, and as a result, are bestowed with his “gifts” in the form of disgusting mutations that grant them repulsive aesthetic and unnatural resilience in battle.

Why the Death Guard Look Great

• If you like gore, guts, and disease with your army, look no further, the disgustingly resilient Death Guard are your guys 
• The sickly green of their army and gross protrusions of flesh and bone are fun to paint and fun to play!
• Rusted plague-themed blades make your Death Guard army look like an intimidating foe to face on the battlefield

1. Dark Angels

A squad of Dark Angels prepare to dematerialize their enemies with the might of their plasma weapons.

The Dark Angels are the first Space Marine chapter created by the Emperor after the recovery of Lion El’Johnson, their noble Primarch. They are a loyalist Space Marine chapter with roots in the knightly order of Caliban. Among the most powerful and secretive of the Space Marine chapters, striving above all things to for ancient crimes of betrayal committed against the Emperor 10,000 years ago by Horus the traitor Warmaster and his accomplices.

Why the Dark Angels Look Great

• They get to wear cream-colored knight’s tabards over a beautiful forest green shade of armor.
• They don heraldry that looks great over their green armor, often a pair of cream-colored angel wings
• They favor shiny blue plasma weapons that look great and really pop against the backdrop of their green and cream colors
• They have some of the most bad-ass lore in Warhammer 40k

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