I was young when I started playing Warhammer 40K, so I didn’t look up what race was the most popular, or which would be fitting for me. I just picked Tyranid because I liked aliens.
Luckily, in the age of the Internet, you can make these decisions after some research, which is why we’ve compiled the 10 most popular Warhammer 40K armies to date. So, what are the most popular armies in Warhammer 40K?
Space Marines are the most popular army by a good margin, followed by Chaos Space Marines and Eldar. This statistic is based on tournaments, however, and casual players usually pick what they think is cool rather than what’s the most effective to play. This list will be compiled according to some data provided by Tabletoptournaments.net.
Are you pondering what army you should invest in next, or are you just curious? Either way, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our list of the most popular Warhammer Armies, and some potential reasons as to why this is the case.
Read more: Your Guide to the Best Warhammer 40K Miniature Armies for New Painters
10. Drukhari
The Drukhari are Dark Eldar, an alien race of ancient origin. The Drukhari are somewhat popular, some people like them, and some don’t. My and other players’ problems with the race are mostly aesthetical in nature.
The Drukhari are a sadistic race who enjoy things like torture and other not-so-morally correct things. Gameplay-wise, they are really strong. They received a new Codex in 2021, which was a big buff to them.
Another thing that makes the Drukhari place lower on this list is the fact that they’re really difficult to master, so players tend to play something else.
9. Space Wolves
Space Wolves are a faction of Space Marines. Space Wolves are placed pretty high considering this, there are a lot of factions consisting of Space Marines, and the Space Wolves are the most popular of those factions.
The aesthetic of the Space Wolves is… well, wolves. They wear wolf pelts and wolf talismans, which make for a cool look. The aesthetic is not the only reason they’re popular, however.
The Space Wolves have abilities such as night vision and some units have split shooting, which means that their fire can hit two targets. The Space Wolves are certainly the most “odd” Space Marine, but they’re cool in my opinion.
8. Necrons
The Necrons are mechanical skeletons, and one of the oldest races in the entire 40K universe. After laying dormant for millions of years, they awoke again and began looking for dominance over the galaxy. Pretty neat, right?
In combat, the Necrons can resurrect using their Reanimation Protocol. This is a special rule for Necrons. If you want information about this ability, check the 40K Reddit or read the Necron codex.
The Necrons are not very strong in close quarters, but they do have a lot of toughness.
7. Orks
The Orks are one of my favorite races in the 40K universe. They fight amongst themselves as much as they fight other races in the galaxy. The only reason why they’re not the one and only rulers is that they’re constantly at war with each other.
You’ve probably seen the aesthetic of an Ork before. It’s similar to every other portrayal of this race in other movies and games – mean and green.
Orks are super fun to play, and their relative popularity probably comes from their unique playstyle. Orks are rad at aiming their guns, see, but when they hit, it hurts a ton.
This race is fun for those who like coinflips and fun. You win some, you lose some.
6. Tyranids
The Tyranid are an alien race with a great hunger to consume every other race within the 40K universe. That’s how they can reproduce and grow, see. Visually, they kind of look like aliens from the movie Alien. They’re really easy to paint as well, so that’s a plus for new players.
There’s this concept in the Tyranid race called “the Hive Mind”, and it’s basically what it sounds like. It’s a great presence in all Tyranids, steering all of them at once. It’s felt by every Tyranid and is commonly referred to as the “collective consciousness”.
Tyranids’ strong suit lies in melee range. They are really fast and hit a lot. Their ranged options are less good, but the Tyranids would be a bit much with strong shooters.
5. T’au
The T’au are strange. Practically every single race in the entire 40K universe wants to dominate, slaughter, torture, or devour, but not the T’au. They once were a peaceful tribe of people, and they fight by the mantra “the greater good”.
They might not be model citizens or anything like that, but they’re certainly not on the level of the Dark Eldar or the Tyranids.
The T’au’s strong suit is ranged combat. This is something that a lot of players dislike, their ranged combat is so strong that sometimes, the facing army can’t reach the T’au before the fight is over and done with.
As they are this strong at a range, they are equally terrible in close-quarters combat. They die to pretty much anything.
4. Astra Militarum
The Astra Militarum, or the Imperial Guard, are the imperial forces of humanity. They have the largest quantity of fighters in the entire galaxy, consisting of common people like the ones here on Earth. This is a cool concept in my opinion, and the minis look cool as well.
The imperial force’s sole strength is that of numbers, but one by one they fall very easily. The Astra Militarum’s strengths are swarming enemies with soldiers and tanks, and their weaknesses are that they are squishy, meaning they die super easily.
Also, their units are samey. They don’t have an array of options to choose from.
3. Eldar
The Eldar is an old humanoid race consisting of psychics (“psykers” in the 40K universe). In the 40K lore, the Eldars’ luxurious and hedonistic lifestyle leads to the birth of a Chaos God, Slaanesh. The birth of this God almost wipes out the entire Eldar civilization.
Eldars have some of the best weapons in the game, with good tanks, some of the best movement, and efficient units. Their weaknesses consist of low armor units, and dying to rush down (A.K.A. “alpha strikes”).
The Eldar are considered one of the best armies in Warhammer 40K.
2. Chaos Space Marines
The Chaos Space Marines are former soldiers (more specifically, Space Marines) of the Human Imperium, who at some point betrayed the Imperium and decided to serve Chaos instead.
There was a big in-fight between the Emperor of the Imperium and some of his Space Marines a couple of thousands of years ago in the 40K universe. The Emperor won, the rebel leader Horus died, and the rest of the traitor Space Marines eventually created different factions of their own as Chaos Space Marines.
The Chaos Space Marines have access to things like the Mark of Chaos, a buff given to units dedicated to Chaos Gods (very briefly explained, I would suggest reading the Chaos Space Marine codex for detailed information). Furthermore, they have cultists and good CQC in general.
1. Space Marines
I’d like to think that the Space Marines’ popularity comes in part to their exposure to popular culture as well as lore and in-game functions. Multiple video games have been made about the Space Marines, and they’re very well-known outside the game of 40K.
The Space Marines have excellent units, with good stats and weapons. Another nice thing about the Space Marines is the diversity of tactics and ways to play, there are multiple viable strategies to use with them.
The Space Marines are mediocre in CQC, and troops and structures are really expensive, especially after upgrades. One of the last things I’ll say about the Space Marines is how nice they are to paint. I’d recommend this faction to beginners because of this.