[Top 10] Warhammer 40k Most Played Armies

Updated:

05 Sep 2024

Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most popular tabletop wargames in the world with over a dozen different armies to choose from all with their own distinct abilities and units. With all of these options, fan-favorites became apparent and this guide is here to show off the 10 most played armies in Warhammer 40,000.

10. Leagues of Votann

The latest Xenos army to be added in 40k the Leagues of Votann offers a unique set of lore and rules by being a bunch of capitalist space dwarves. While not having a lot of models their aesthetic and rules have cultivated a niche following. Their faction-specific mechanic is “Judgement Tokens” which are placed on opponents when they kill a Votann unit, 1 token gives plus one to hit and 2 tokens give plus one to wound.

Choose the Votann if:

You like using the faction-specific “Judgement Tokens” to hit opponents hard after they kill your units.
You like a faction with a more normalized sci-fi aesthetic than the imperium’s gothic aesthetic.
You want a balanced army with infantry, vehicles, melee, and ranged

9. World Eaters

The Khorne-centric chaos space marine army focuses all of its power on melee and their faction-specific ability “Blessings of Khorne” which lets you roll 8 d6 dice that can buff the World Eaters to melee more effectively like advance and charge or melee hits have lethal hits.

With their bright red armor and centerpiece model, the daemon primarch Angron, the World Eaters have a defined look that no army can replicate.

Choose World Eaters if:

You want to be one of the strongest melee armies.
You want to dash across the map to fight your enemies.
You want to field a daemon primarch and put fear into your foes.

8. Aeldari

A major Xenos army, the Aeldari are a fast and tricky army able to do both melee and ranged. Their army rule “Strands of Fate” gives out six d6 that can be used to substitute various dice rolls with a guaranteed number. Add the ability to field Drukari and Harlequin troops like the character killing Solitaire within their ranks and you get a well-balanced army that is the face of Xenos.

Choose Aeldari if:

You want an army that focuses on tricky, fast-moving gameplay.
You want to play an army that can have good infantry and vehicles.
You want to guarantee good dice rolls.

7. Death Guard

The Nurgle-aligned chaos space marine army, Death Guard is one of the tankiest armies in the game but also the slowest. Their infantry can move as little as 4 inches but to make up for that their army rule “Nurgle’s gift” gives every Death Guard unit an aura that reduces toughness which not only gets bigger as the match progresses but can also stick to objectives giving them the aura as well.

Along with the powerful daemon Primarch Mortarion giving buffs to other Death Guard units and being one of the most difficult models to take down the Death Guard cement their place as the slow and bulky army of 40k.

Choose Death Guard if:

You want to play a tanky army.
You want to place debuffs on your enemies.
You want to show off Mortarion and the other disgustingly beautiful death guard models.

6. T’au

Quite possibly the morally best army in all of 40k the T’au specialize in ranged combat with impressive-looking mechs and a philosophy that isn’t about murder. Being the first army with their 10th edition codex on this list the T’au have additional options along with their “For the Greater Good” army rule which focuses on using one unit to spot an enemy and making another unit hit better because of it.

Codex detachments like “Retaliation Cadre” and “Mont’ka” focus on close-range gunfire while the “Kauyon” detachment prefers to wait until halfway in the match to get strong, and there’s even the “Kroot Hunting Pack” which focuses on the T’au auxiliary species the Kroot giving this ranged focus army some respectable melee.

Choose T’au if:

You want to play with some sleek-looking mechs.
You want a ranged-focused army.
You want to play the least evil faction in 40k.

5. Adepta Soroitas

The iconic nuns with guns, the Adepta Soroitas or Sisters of Battle are a unique army with fragile yet hard-hitting units who have always stayed at the midpoint of popularity. Their army rule “Acts of Faith” can substitute special dice they roll which are called miracle dice which they get mostly by dying making a comeback always possible.

Being another army with a codex means they get extra detachments like the popular “Bringers of Flame” which allows all units to advance and shoot or the melee-focused “Penitent Host” which gives different buffs to their melee units. The Sisters also have some rather iconic units like the “Triumph of Saint Katherine” which is a literal funeral procession or the living saint Celestine who can come back after death.

Choose the Sisters of Battle if:

You want to play a glass canon army.
You want to play an all-female army.
You want to field some insanely detailed units.

4. Imperial Guard

In a world of superhuman space marines and daemons, the Imperial Guard is an army made up of normal men and women. The most normal army of all of 40k’s armies the Imperial Guard is built up with tanks, planes, and artillery.

Their army rule “Voice of Command” allows their characters to buff Guard units by giving them orders like “Take Aim.” or “Move Move Move!” Guard while being mostly focused on ranged damage still can be uniquely built by having an all-infantry army, an all-vehicle army, or anything in-between. They also have access to super-heavy tanks like the iconic Baneblade which can bring some heavy firepower that can threaten any army.

Choose Imperial Guard if:

You want to play the underdogs.
You want to play a normal army in 40k.
You want to play a tactical army that relies on orders.

3. Chaos Space Marines

The bringers of Chaos and worshippers of the dark gods, the Chaos Space Marines are nearly as popular as their loyalist counterparts. Their army rule “Dark Pacts” gives them either sustained hits or lethal hits to do better damage at the cost of possibly killing their own units.

Being an army with a codex Chaos Space Marines have detachments that focus on ranged units like “Renegade Raiders” and “Fellhammer Siege-Host”, melee units with “Deceptors” and “Dread Talons”, or even vehicles with “Soulforged Warpack”. Chaos Space Marines also have some iconic units like Abaddom the Despoiler, Cypher, and Vashtorr giving this army many options for a unique army for each player.

Choose Chaos Space Marines if:

You want to play a risk-reward army.
You want an all-arounder army.
You want to play your favorite traitor space marine legion.

2. Tyranids

This melee-focused Xenos army is the focal point of the 10th edition of 40k with the gigantic Norn models being new additions to the army as seen in the image above. Their army rule “Synapse” allows stronger Tyranid units to be synapse units which buffs themselves and other nearby units.

Tyranids is another army with a codex and their detachments are rather simple with “Invasion Fleet” serving as a generalist detachment, “Crusher Stampede” being monster-focused, and “Unending Swarm” being about hordes of small units. Other detachments are more nuanced but overall Tyranids is a rather simple army that can be modified to fit whatever role you need them to be.

Choose Tyranids if:

You want an army that is more animalistic.
You like the idea of the synapse mechanic.
You want to field some big monsters.

1. Space Marines

The main characters of 40k, the Space Marines are both the most popular army to play and the easiest. Their army rule “Oath of Moment” picks an enemy unit and gives all Space Marine units re-rolls to hit that enemy unit. It’s rather simple yet powerful which is the design philosophy behind the Space Marines.

Their codex gives the Space Marines the option to field whatever type of army you want whether that be melee, ranged, or vehicle-focused. Space Marines also have the most characters like the loyalist primarchs Roboute Guilliman or Lion El’johnson who can be just as powerful and game-changing as their daemonic brothers.

Choose Space Marines if: