Which army should I start?
Answer a few questions for a recommendation, or browse the full table. Each faction links to a starter guide (best box + what to buy next).
Army size?
Learning curve?
Painting?
Budget?
| Faction | Difficulty | Playstyle | Models @2k | Cost | Paint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adepta Sororitas | Durable melee + mobile shooting with battlefield miracles | ~50-80 | $500-650 / £350-450 | Medium | |
| Adeptus Custodes | Tiny near-unkillable elite | ~25-40 | $500-700 / £350-480 | Medium | |
| Adeptus Mechanicus | Buff-stacking screen, tag and out-score | ~50-80+ | $700-950 / £480-640 | Hard | |
| Aeldari | Hyper-mobile dice-bending glass cannon | ~45-65 | $550-750 / £400-550 | Hard | |
| Astra Militarum | Massed fire and Orders horde | ~100-150+ | $650-900 / £450-650 | Medium | |
| Chaos Daemons | Fast-assembling daemon horde led by a Greater Daemon | ~60-90+ | $450-600 / £270-360 | Easy | |
| Chaos Knights | Small pack of daemon-fused war engines | ~8-12 | ~$700 / £420 | Hard | |
| Chaos Space Marines | Flexible toolbox with daemon engines | ~40-70 | $500-700 / £350-450 | Medium | |
| Death Guard | Tanky attritional grind (FNP + high Toughness) | ~35-55 | $450-600 / £300-400 | Medium | |
| Drukhari | Hyper-aggressive transport-borne glass cannon | ~40-60 | $650-850 / £400-520 | Hard | |
| Emperor's Children | Fast, hyper-lethal elite blade army | ~40-60 | $500-650 / £300-380 | Hard | |
| Genestealer Cults | Ambush deep-strike and reserve mind games | ~80-120+ | $600-800 / £400-550 | Hard | |
| Imperial Knights | Few God-machines that duel monsters | ~5-7 | $650-800 / £390-480 | Hard | |
| Leagues of Votann | Small, tough, tech-rich grind army | ~40-60 | $450-650 / £300-450 | Easy | |
| Necrons | Durable, forgiving robot legions that get back up | ~40-60 | $500-700 / £350-500 | Easy | |
| Orks | Forgiving green melee horde | ~60-100 | $400-650 / £300-500+ | Medium | |
| Space Marines | Do-anything balanced all-rounder | ~40-60 | $500-700 / £350-550 | Easy | |
| T'au Empire | High-tech mobile gunline, near-zero melee | ~40-60 | $650-900 / £450-600 | Medium | |
| Thousand Sons | Elite psyker buff/debuff and mortal wounds | ~40-60 | $650-900 / £400-550 | Hard | |
| Tyranids | Synapse-driven devouring swarm | ~30-100+ | $500-800 / £350-550 | Medium | |
| World Eaters | Pure aggressive melee carnage | ~60-90 | $700-950 / £430-580 | Easy |