According to the data from Games Workshop, these are the best (top winning) and worst Warhammer 40k armies in the meta right now!
GW’s been keeping a close eye on the meta lately, trying to keep everyone at that sweet 50% win rate with their Balance Dataslates, Rules Commentary, and FAQs. But let’s face it: with so many rules and mechanics, not every army will always stay in perfect balance.
Games Workshop Confirms the Best & Worst Warhammer 40k Armies In 2024 Meta
According to the folks over at Warhammer Community, here’s the scoop on the best and worst 40k armies in the meta. Also, big news – GW is now updating the 40k Balance Dataslate every other quarter instead of every quarter, and points will change every quarter.
Check out the latest on the current best armies in the Warhammer 40k meta and the recent updates from Games Workshop for all the juicy details.
- Weekly 40k Tournament Coverage & Top Army Lists
- Latest Balance Dataslate
- Current Munitorium Points Changes
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Major Faction Changes & Updates: Q3 Summer 2024
Adeptus Mechanicus
In a move to bolster their forces, sections of the army previously lacking the Army Rule now get the faction ability and can jam out with their canticle-loving comrades. The goal here? Amp up damage output, trim the model count, and let players craft lists that truly capture the essence of the Protector or Conqueror Imperatives, all while keeping that tactical edge sharp.
These updates build on the recent buffs for Skitarii Battleline units, the main stars of the Omnissiah’s psalms, with some datasheet tweaks to crank up the damage. Naturally, this power boost means certain units are now pricier, reflecting their beefed-up potential and versatility across different detachments.
Other faction errata include the Skitarii Marshal’s newfound ability to rally troops, the Onager Dunecrawler’s improved terrain navigation and Skorpius Dunerider units getting to pop out of hatches and fire from the deck.
And let’s not forget Prime Conduit Belisarius Cawl, who’s received some slick upgrades to enhance his legendary prowess. All these changes aim to bring a smile to the faces of the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Thousand Sons
The Thousand Sons have been showing up strong, so instead of jacking up their points and slashing their model count again, the focus shifted to smoothing out some of their more frustrating Rituals and abilities.
This means tweaking Rituals like Doombolt, Temporal Surge, and Twist of Fate to give opponents a better chance to counter these moves.
Previously, the rules were a bit vague on how many Rituals a Psyker could pull off each turn, leading to some serious overloading by a single Psyker. Now, a Psyker can only cast one Ritual per turn, ensuring that the mystical mayhem gets spread around a bit more evenly with all these new rules.
Dark Angels
Players were giving the Inner Circle and Deathwing Knights the cold shoulder, mainly because their points cost and rules didn’t stack up well against similar models. To fix that, their weapon profiles have been beefed up to match those of their peers.
On top of that, the Inner Circle Task Force and Unforgiven Detachment rules got some power boosts to steer them in the right direction in 10th Edition.
Orks
Bursting onto the scene in a wave of green muscle, the Orks made a big, boisterous entrance, and it didn’t take long to notice a couple of dominant lists skewing matchups. The Green Tide Detachment was just too good at combining maneuverability and durability, putting too much pressure on the board.
So, some precise tweaks have been made to dial this back, aiming for a more balanced challenge across all armies and less need for custom-tailored lists based on their new rules.
Tyranids
Being one of the first Codexes out, the Tyranids have had plenty of time to show their stuff, and it was clear they needed a refresh to their rules, based on how things have unfolded.
The biggest upgrade is boosting the Strength of their melee weapons while in Synapse range, helping them hit those critical damage thresholds they were missing before. Plus, their big hitters like the Exocrine and Tyrannofex got some love to better handle the current meta.
The Crusher Stampede is also seeing some nice perks, with improved mobility options for those denser terrain layouts and a boost in Objective Control to help dominate objectives. Finally, a bunch of key characters got significant tweaks to better fulfill their roles.
Neurotyrants can now lead Zoanthropes, several models, including the Parasite of Mortrex, gained the Synapse keyword, and the Hive Tyrant’s aura has become even more, well, tyrannical.
Adeptus Custodes
The Adeptus Custodes are already enjoying a solid boost from the changes to Devastating Wounds and Mortal Wounds, but they saw a few more chances to give the Emperor’s Chosen rules some extra oomph.
The Martial Mastery abilities in the Shield Host Detachment are pretty awesome, but limiting each to just one use was a bit too harsh. This meant the Detachment ability was only useful for less than half the battle. So, they’ve tweaked it, so now one of the abilities can be used every turn, giving them more consistent power throughout the fight.
Chaos Daemons
The Shadow of Chaos is a standout army rule that really shapes the Chaos Daemons’ playstyle, but it’s pretty dependent on mission specifics, like where objectives are placed. Since we’re talking about beings of pure warp energy, they wanted to give Chaos Daemon players more control and aggression in their game.
So, they’ve updated both the army rule and the Greater Daemons to make them true linchpins for the army. Now, they not only buff nearby friendly units of the same Chaos God but also allow those units to arrive from Deep Strike much closer.
This makes the army less reactive and more capable of pushing into areas earlier, giving players more options and flexibility in tackling different mission layouts.
Warhammer 40k Faction Win Rates: (June 11th, 2024)
We owe thanks to Stat Check, which shared the latest win rates for the best Warhammer 40k armies.
Well, considering this is pre-Dataslate, the win rates make sense, and what GW NERFED and buffed. Space Wolves, Grey Knights, and Thousand Sons are dominating the meta. However, it seems like Thousand Sons took the biggest hit.
Then, Orks also got hit with a NERF and will most likely push them a little down towards the 50% win rate. Now, there are a ton of armies who stay in the 50ish% win rate, so there are some small changes to them, but nothing too wild.
Now, onto the armies underperforming. First, Ad Mech is sitting at the very bottom of the list, and boy, oh boy, did they get a lot of changes this time around. We’ll have to see how much this actually boosts them up, but they really need it on the competitive scene.
Then, the changes to Tyranids look to be huge. They still had some people winning tournaments with them at the current “bad” rules. So, with the updated rules and the ability to now actually kill enemy models, there’s a chance they will fly high quite soon.
Lastly, Adeptus Custodes are getting a lot of buffs this time around, and we expect them to go near the top once again.
10th Edition Warhammer 40k Munitorium Field Manual LATEST
Maybe just as important as the points, GW said they will now only be doing 40k Balance Dataslate updates every other quarter (originally, they said every quarter), and points change every quarter. This means we just got the Dataslate, but plenty of points to go along with it!
Let’s start with the Munitorum Field Manual 40k points change winners and losers, and then get into the specifics.
Buffed Armies
- Adeptus Custodes: They get a decent number of decreases plus benefits from the core rule changes.
- Astra Militarum: They only received point decreases this time around.
- Chaos Daemons: They received buffs in the Dataslate, and a bunch of points decreased.
- Chaos Knights: Decreases across the board for most of your big knights.
- Deathwatch: They get three points decreases.
- Drukhari: They get two decreases and an adjustment to Scourges.
- Imperial Knights: Decreases across the board for most of your big knights.
- Orks: Like Custodes, they received huge point decreases across the board, with a couple of increases, but the decreases far outweigh them.
- Space Marines: They get a bunch of decreases and a few increases, but the changes should help.
- Tau: They get a ton of point decreases this time.
- Thousand Sons: They get three decreases to units, but they received some NERFS in the Dataslate.
- Tyranids: Get deductions to a few underplayed units, but also receive help in the Dataslate.
- World Eaters: The previous Dataslate changes really hit them hard, but they get more decreases this time around.
NERFED Armies
- Adepta Sororitas: This is almost not a NERF, as they get better in the codex, but the points do go up. Remember, use these points and not the ones in the codex!
- Adeptus Mechanicus: They received increases for a lot of units… however, they got huge buffs to profile, so we’re putting this in NERFS since points go up, but they got better.
- Aeldari: They get some decreases as well, but a lot of popular units are getting increased.
- Black Templars: They are getting two increases and no decreases. So, it’s a pretty straightforward NERF.
- Chaos Space Marines: The new codex is looking good, so these are more just point adjustments than anything, still, they are increasing.
- Dark Angels: They get two small increases.
- Genestealer Cults: Some key units go up in points, but they are also better in the codex. Remember, use these points and not the ones in the codex!
- Grey Knights: Their increases outweigh their decreases, at least to us.
- Necrons: They get some small increases.
- Orks: They are doing really well right now, so some key units get increases.
- Space Wolves: They received two increases.
Warhammer 40k Faction Win Rates: (April 25th, 2024)
We owe thanks to Stat Check, which shared the latest win rates for the best Warhammer 40k armies.
Well, considering we didn’t see a Dataslate this time around, we obviously need some point changes to mix things up. Necrons are still dominating the meta with a 58% win rate (not a surprise as GW let them ride last time with no changes at all).
Then, Adepta Sororitas is back up on top as well. They are interesting because GW has very slowly been NERFING them, but even after the recent point changes, we expect them to do very well still.
The other top armies have also remained almost identical, with very similar win rates. So, let’s hope the points make a difference. However, those are the outliers on top; other than that, the majority of the armies are sitting right around the 50% win rate, which is great, honestly. Either way, while there are some armies doing really well, the majority seem to be balanced just fine.
Now though… there are three armies getting smashed right now (below GW’s wanted 45% win rate minimum threshold), and they are all Space Marines of some kind. The NERFS to CSM really hurt them, and with some point decreases, we hope they can get back up into the mid-tier.
Then, Space Marines have had a 1% win rate increase from last time, but are still getting destroyed in the meta. However, this could also be due to the fact that they have so many units. Think of it like this, something like Leagues of Votann can only have so many different types of armies. Space Marines can have near-endless combos.
The win rate is slippery when you combine this with the fact that the best players avoid them and play armies near the top. Obviously, they need buffs, but it’s also interesting to think about some of the other reasons behind the bad win rates.
What do you think about the best and worst Warhammer 40k armies in the meta right now?
About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
