What is the best Warhammer 40k army to start with?

You’ve decided that you want to start playing Warhammer 40,000 but can’t decide on which army to field? I know that feeling all too well and so in this guide we are going to take a look at the Top 10 best armies to start with Warhammer 40k.

We are well into the 9th edition at the time of writing and have recently had the Arks of Omen updates which have helped to shape the meta. It is always difficult to write a Top 10 list as the game undergoes regular changes which shake things up and keep the game interesting and fresh.

We have chosen our best beginner Warhammer 40k army that we feel is consistently near the top of the tables and, more importantly, is great for beginners.

The Warhammer 40k universe is enormous, full of never ending conflict and intertwining lore which can be quite overwhelming at times. But perhaps this lore is your reason for starting with the game.

Maybe you have read one of the many books in the Black Library and that has helped you decide on your favourite army. Or maybe you just really like the colour of a certain army’s armour? Unfortunately, we aren’t ranking them by colour, instead we’ve chosen to look at their strengths and weaknesses on the tabletop to help you decide on your first Warhammer 40k army.

The Dark Angels are a sub faction of Space Marines and so they have access to a wide range of units and models which they can utilise.

Alongside these, they have many unique units which only they can take, including Deathwing and Ravenwing, as well as plenty of unique characters.

They are extremely versatile and can be fielded as a specialist army, either melee focused or ranged focused. They have access to some fantastic rules which make certain units extremely strong (I’m looking at you Deathwing Terminators).

They also like to use speedy units, such as attack bikes which you have the option to give the ‘Objective Secured’ (obsec) ability too, which can be extremely useful.  

Dark Angel Strengths

• Excellent flexibility in play styles.
• Huge durability from Deathwing Terminators.
• 3 unique super doctrines, each benefitting a different wing of the chapter.
• The option to give Terminators obsec.

Dark Angel Weaknesses

• The trade off between mobility and durability. Often these do not go hand in hand.
• Elite focused, meaning likely more expensive units and therefore less models on the table.

The Thousand Sons are a legion of Chaos Space Marines and a powerful psychic army who love dealing out mortal wounds to their opponents and employing all sorts of psychic buffs to themselves.

They can be extra competitive when combined with some Chaos Daemons for a bit of extra punch. Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators both have the obsec ability and can be a nightmare for your opponent to deal with.

Thousand Sons Strengths

• Psychic, psychic and more psychic. This gives them massive flexibility in playstyle.
• Strong, obsec Terminators.
• Strong mechanic in their ‘Cabbalistic Rituals’.

Thousand Sons Weaknesses

• The heavy reliance on psykers. Makes some secondaries easy for your opponent.
• Lack of long range firepower.
• Expensive, elite units meaning often less models on the table.

Necrons are a great army if you love to annoy your opponent! Their constant reanimation shenanigans and resurrection tricks can be difficult for people to deal with and can slow down a lot of other armies.

They seem to be in quite a good place currently with a nice balance between melee focused units and ranged focused units. They have very good secondary objectives which can comfortably rack up high scoring games as well as some big characters putting out huge amounts of damage.

They have several different dynasties to choose from which all specialise in different things, so it helps to plan out your army around this for maximum efficiency. They also have access to powerful C’Tan with their useful stratagems and powers and The Silent King is a must take in all Necron armies.

Necrons Strengths

• Durability from their resurrection tricks.
• Strong obsec units with pre game movement for great scoring ability.
• A good mix of available melee and ranged units with great close range shooting.

Necrons Weaknesses

• Quite weak units that rely on the resurrection and reanimation.
• Certain units seem to be must haves to make the army competitive (The Silent King).

The Blood Angels are a hugely popular and relatively easy army to play. They have access to a wide range of characters and unique units and are really strong in melee. If you are a fan of running into your opponent madly looking for a fist fight then Blood Angels could be the army for you.

Their chapter tactic means they can get into close combat quicker and punch harder. They still have access to other usual space marine units so do have fire support but it is not as effective as their melee capabilities.

Blood Angels Strengths

• Close combat powerhouses.
• Powerful unique units and characters, including the Sanguinary Guard and Death Company.
• Fairly easy army to get to grips with.

Blood Angels Weaknesses

• Such a melee focus that your opponent will likely know how to plan for it.
• Poor shooting and nothing to help buff it.
• Expensive(ish) units.

The jesters and clowns of the Warhammer universe have a fairly small roster of units but excel in their movement and close combat. Add into that some decent shooting and psychic abilities with lots of tricks that allow them to shoot and move, they can be difficult for their opponents to plan for and deal with.

They are quite a squishy army with low toughness characteristics across the board so can be susceptible to being wiped out quite easily, but their movement allows them to get out of lots of tricky situations.

Harlequins Strengths

• Excellent movement and speed.
• Great stratagems and flexibility.
• Good close combat units.

Harlequins Weaknesses

• Very small selection of units.
• Fragile units.
• Mostly short ranged units.

After many melee focused armies, we are flipping the script completely and showcasing the T’au Empire who are completely ranged focused (barring a few units). T’au excel at long range shooting and aim to keep as far away from their opponents as possible.

They make good use of drones to soak up enemy firepower and have good movement capabilities. They can struggle on tight terrain and need good line of sight to make full use of their strong ranged capabilities. They have lots of different weapon loadouts to swap between and are quite versatile in their shooting distances.

T’au Strengths

• Overwhelming ranged firepower at all distances.
• Great movement and speed.
• Markerlights and drones to improve shooting and durability.

T’au Weaknesses

• Poor melee capabilities.
• No psychic at all.
• Lack of versatility can be easier for your opponent to plan around.

Tyranids have an animalistic appeal of big bugs that enjoy eating everything. They benefit overall from really strong units and have a good balance of ranged, melee and psychic power. These can all be combined to create a well rounded army, or you can focus your efforts into making a hard hitting melee army with ranged and psychic backups.

They have a good amount of big monsters with high toughness and lots of wounds which means they stick around for longer than most people would like!

They can be used as a horde army with some big models leading hordes of smaller units or as a large unit elite army with a select few massive creatures. They also have access to several different Hive Fleets, each of which offers buffs to a different area of their game.

Tyranids Strengths

• Big monsters which have high toughness and lots of wounds.
• Versatility in all phases of the game.
• Very fast army with great movement and ability to out-manoeuvre many others.

Tyranids Weaknesses

• Special abilities lost when synapse units are destroyed.
• Lots of units have a high points cost.
• Morale tests can cause problems for low leadership characteristics.

Eldar combine strong psychic powers with very good stratagems to help them out play opponents. They have a good balance in all areas of the game, including some very strong ranged units and some equally good close combat tanky units. Pair this with access to powerful, buffing characters and the Craftworlds Eldar are a force to be reckoned with.

They are a fast army with good movement abilities and strong tactics for shooting and moving, which can be difficult for your opponent to deal with. Alongside plenty of obsec units which can take objectives from the enemy, it’s not hard to see why Eldar remain constantly competitive.

Craftworld Eldar Strengths

• Great psychic shenanigans to buff their own units or hurt their opponents.
• Very fast with great movement.
• Brilliant shooting and buffs to improve it even further.

Craftworld Eldar Weaknesses

• Poor relics and warlord traits don’t allow for much customisation in lists.
• A core of strong units with many just being inferior.
• Fairly fragile.

The ‘nuns with guns’ are a great fun tabletop army and have access to a whole load of unique units and characters. They are well balanced overall and can hit hard in all areas of the game. Sisters have ‘Miracle Dice’ which are a powerful tactic which guarantee rolls in the most critical parts of the battle.

They have plenty of army wide abilities which can be super powerful in the right situations as well as a huge number of stratagems. Being successful with Sisters of Battle requires pretty extensive knowledge of their codex to get the full benefits, but when mastered they really are a strong army who can stand up to most any opponent.

Sisters of Battle Strengths

• Great army wide abilities and a massive amount of stratagems to get you out of most nasty situations.
• Versatile with a large number of units to choose from depending on your preferred playstyle.
• Ability to field loads of infantry, giving good board presence and control.

Sisters of Battle Weaknesses

• Low toughness means they can be wounded fairly easily by most armies.
• Best at close range, slightly lacking in long range firepower.
• Lack of psychic powers, although they can deny plenty.

So there we have our rundown of the top 10 best armies for Warhammer 40k new players. Some are a lot easier to get to grips with and start playing competitively straight away and others take a bit more getting used to but also have great long term playability potential.

If any of these armies tickle your fancy then the best place to start is by watching some videos and maybe picking up the codex to read. Whichever army you choose to go for in the Warhammer 40k universe, have fun and enjoy competing with your friends!