According to the data from Games Workshop, these are the best (top winning) and worst Warhammer 40k armies in the meta up to January 2024!
GW has been keeping a closer eye on the meta recently and is trying to keep everyone around that 50% win rate with the Balance Dataslates, Rules Commentary, and FAQs. However, the game has a lot of rules and mechanics, so not every army will always stay balanced. While the newest Dataslate hasn’t been out that long, things are starting to look up for the most part overall.
GW Confirms the Best & Worst 40k Armies In 2024 Meta
Here is the latest on the Best and Worst 40k armies in the meta according to Warhammer Community.
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 won’t see the next Dataslate until Q3 of 2024, but the points changes should really shake the game up for now!
Major Faction Changes & Updates
The game has undergone significant changes to address the overpowered Necrons, with adjustments made to powerful combinations that were frequently used in competitive play. These changes include increasing the points cost of C’tan Shards, certain types of Cryptek (including Illuminor Szeras), and Immortals.
At the same time, units that are less commonly used have been given slight discounts, especially those that are part of Detachments outside of the Hypercrypt Legion and Canoptek Court.
The Adeptus Mechanicus points costs have been lowered across the board. The Warhammer Studio is currently testing a set of rules changes that will accompany the next Balance Dataslate. The primary objective of these changes is to enhance the Machine Cult’s legions and offer them a significant advantage.
The points for Adeptus Custodes and Orks have been updated with the release of their Codex books. These updated points may differ from the ones printed in the books, ensuring that they are fully up-to-date with the latest balance update.
Before the widespread release of the new T’au Empire Codex, their points values remain in line with their Index values. The Codex is now up for pre-order, and a Munitorum Field Manual update will come out alongside its in-store release, granting everyone access to its rules.
The Space Marines have undergone some internal balance changes, with several Chapters receiving tweaks to improve gameplay balance. Notably, the Dark Angels have had their points decreased to make a wider variety of units viable. The Blood Angels Death Companies have also been adjusted to better reflect their typical load-outs, while the Sanguinary Guard will now cost less, encouraging players to use this iconic unit more frequently in gameplay.
The Black Templars are now required to pay points for the multi-meltas they take on pretty much every tank.
The units in the Genestealer Cults, Adepta Sororitas, and Astra Militarum that frequently appear in top-ranked lists have undergone targeted changes. Additionally, other units or builds that have not been popular have been improved to increase their viability. The Chaos Space Marines, on the other hand, have concentrated on internal balance for their changes.
Certain factions, such as Daemons, Chaos Knights, Imperial Knights, and Death Guard, have remained almost unchanged, while all other factions have received minor adjustments to improve their internal balance.
Warhammer 40k Faction Win Rates: (April 25th, 2024)
We owe thanks to Stat Check who 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. So 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.
Big Points Changes
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 won’t see the next Dataslate until Q3 of 2024, but the points changes should really shake the game up for now!
They say it isn’t a strict schedule, but if you were hoping for changes beyond points for your army, you need to wait until Q3. However, there are some pretty big points that change, and the new codexes (Orks and Custodes) have some huge changes.
We’ll check out the overview, and if you want to read all the changes, we’ll link to that post below.
Buffed Armies
- Adeptus Custodes: They basically received a decrease in points for almost every single unit in the codex.
- Adeptus Mechanicus: They received decreases for about eight units and no increases.
- Chaos Space Marines: The Dataslate hit them pretty hard, but this time, they exclusively received points drops.
- Dark Angels: Got four point decreases this time around
- Genestealer Cults: Some key units go down in points.
- Leagues of Votann: Very small decreases to Warriors and Uthar.
- 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.
- Space Wolves: They received two decreases.
- Thousand Sons: They get seven decreases to units, but two enhancements go up in points.
- Tyranids: Get deductions across the board, but Gargoyles are going up in points again.
- World Eaters: The Dataslate changes really hit them hard, but they are getting a pretty big point buff this time.
NERFED Armies
- Adepta Sororitas: This is almost not a NERF, as they get four decreases, but the five points increases outweigh that
- Aeldari: They get some decreases as well, but a lot of popular units are getting increased.
- Agents of the Imperium: The agents get only point increases this time.
- Astra Militarum: It’s hard to call this a straight-up NERF, but a lot of very popular units are increasing while less-used units are decreasing.
- Black Templars: They are getting six increases and no decreases. So, it’s a pretty straightforward NERF.
- Blood Angels: Like the Astra Militarum, they are getting key NERFS and a couple of units cheaper to increase their viability.
- Grey Knights: Their increases outweigh their decreases, at least to us.
- Necrons: Some units get decreased, but the majority are getting big increases.
Read all the points changes here!
Best & Worst Warhammer 40k Armies at AdeptiCon According To Games Workshop: (March 29, 2024)
Here is the latest on the Warhammer 40k meta at Adepticon.
We owe thanks to Stat Check who shared the latest win rates for the best Warhammer 40k armies.
Again, they didn’t show the win rates, but we have some pretty good data to go off. However, it’s interesting to note that for the first time in a long time, Aeldari isn’t at the top of the meta! In the video, they talk about how tough units and transports, particularly the Rhino and Land Raider, are making a big comeback in the game. It’s awesome to see some staple units come back.
It looks like the NERFS to Chaos Space Marines really took a heavy toll, as their win rate has dropped dramatically. However, with their codex coming soon, we hope that they will make the changes to the faction they need. On the other side of the spectrum, Drukhari went from one of the worst armies out there to breaking above the 50% win rate. The new buffs and the detachment really gave them the boost they needed to be viable.
Maybe Adeptus Mechanicus will get some buffs, as they haven’t done well since the codex drop, while the Necrons have been dominating. So, we expect to see some NERFS coming soon for Necrons, as GW should have had enough time now since the codex dropped to make the necessary changes.
The Warhammer meta at AdeptiCon was exciting, with some surprising outcomes and interesting trends. GW’s efforts to keep the game balanced with their Dataslates, Battlescrolls, Rules Commentary, and FAQs seem to be paying off, as the armies are staying fairly balanced.
Warhammer 40k Metawatch: (February 22, 2024)
Here is the latest on the Warhammer 40k meta according to Warhammer Community.
The Balance Dataslate is too recent to share any completely solid data, but early indications are that Aeldari and Chaos Space Marines are loosening their iron grip on the top tables at major tournaments – as Josh points out, we’ve seen Astra Militarum and World Eaters win recent events.
Drukhari have won a number of events since the Balance Dataslate was released, which is great to see players doing well with the brand new Skysplinter Assault Detachment we created for them, Josh told Warhammer Community. Especially considering before the update Drukhari were trending as one of the lowest win rates.
It’s a well-known fact that Aeldari has been dominating the game with a high win rate since the beginning of this edition. Although they don’t give exact numbers (don’t worry, we have stat check stats), it’s good to see that their win rate has decreased somewhat after the updates.
Despite the nerfs, World Eaters are still performing well. Drukhari, on the other hand, seems to have benefited the most from the Dataslate, as they have gained a brand new detachment, a significant reduction in points, and many other buffs. It’s great to see their success in the game.
Astra Militarum, World Eaters, Space Marines, Adeptus Custodes, Adeptus Sororitas, Necrons, Aeldari, Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, and Thousand Sons have all won events since the Balance Dataslate. Considering this is only two weekends of events data it is fantastic to see such a diversity in the factions winning.
Having so many armies win tournaments is a great sign for the game. Even though some of the armies above already got balance NERFS, they might still get another round if they keep winning. However, some armies that got buffs are also winning now, but there are still some armies like Ad Mech and Space Marines who seem to be stagnant in the meta.
Aeldari and Chaos Space Marines win-rates look to be trending down into the preferred 45-55%, though players are still finding great success with them.
The team wants to let the major changes sit for a while before committing to any further tweaks, but the early data is very encouraging. And where certain factions are still struggling, they are in the sights of the developers.
We’ll see if they do any hot-fix buffs to armies doing badly in the next couple of weeks, as there are still quite a few armies (we suspect) that will not be doing well, as they got very little in the Dataslate. Luckily, we have some actual numbers to go off to see who’s really doing well.
Warhammer 40k Faction Win Rates: (February 22, 2024)
We owe thanks to Stat Check who shared the latest win rates for Warhammer 40k
Well, this is quite a change from what we’ve seen before! Aeldari has finally fallen beneath the 55% win rate, whereas Adepta Sororitas has flown to the top of the meta (but only has a 2% play rate)! They were doing decent before, but without any huge NERFS and the top armies falling, the Sisters of Battle are flying high again.
Custodes are really the biggest winners, as 7% of people have played them in events; they have already won three tournaments and now have a 59% win rate. At least initially, their recent changes might have been too much for the other 40k factions to handle.
It’s also no surprise Black Templars and Necrons have been doing well. While this sampling is only from a few tournaments using the new data slate, plenty of armies are sitting above that 55% win rate.
Unfortunately, we also have to look at the worst armies. We’re not sure World Eaters are actually this bad, but in recent tournaments, they got pretty smashed, and it seems like the NERFS might have been too much. It also looks like the Chaos Space Marines changes did their job and more, dropping from the top. Overall, a ton of armies are sitting right near the 50% win rate, which is just what Games Workshop has said they wanted.
Now, let’s check out the best and worst armies in Warhammer 40k before all these big changes came about from the January Balance Dataslate.
Warhammer 40k Metawatch: (January 30th, 2024)
Aeldari armies still sit just above the ideal 55% win-rate, and so there are further adjustments to the number of Fate Dice they start with, changes to the Phantasm stratagem, and a few targeted points increases. The intent is still to tweak a little at a time to ensure one change doesn’t entirely flip their fortunes, and to reduce the reliability of certain powerful abilities.
There is no real surprise here, as Aeldari has been winning since the beginning of the 10th. However, they are now tied with Necrons this time, but after the quick changes to Necrons, we’re not sure how long it will last. Then Leagues of Votann and Chaos are also up pretty high in the rankings, with the first getting a bit of points NERF in the latest Balance Dataslate.
In contrast, their despicable Drukhari cousins have been doing less well for some time, and they now receive a much-needed boost. Changes include updates to points and Power from Pain mechanics, and there’s even Skysplinter Assault – an all-new Detachment – while Archons can now hire Incubi bodyguards.
On the other hand, Drukhari needs a lot of help, and they are getting it in the Dataslate. However… Astra Militarum doesn’t receive much help and actually got a NERF for Manticores. We’re not really sure about that decision. Blood Angels are also suffering, but they do get some help.
The meta seems to be in a decent spot, but there is always going to be a best and worst army in the game, so we’ll see what GW does next to keep the meta as close as possible.
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Joined: 2019
Socials: @paschbass
Bio: Dark Eldar Dracon and Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the third edition in 1998. He also loves camping because you can only paint so much! He joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the main daily writer since 2020.
Maybe one day, he’ll finish converting all his Ad Mech models and turn into a true tech enjoyer, complete with sad and happy robot noises!
