GW Confirms the Best & Worst Warhammer 40k Armies Since LVO

By Travis Pasch | April 25th, 2024 | Categories: 10th Edition 40k, 40k News & Articles, Aeldari, Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, Dark Eldar Drukhari, Games Workshop, LVO 2024, Space Marines, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tournament Coverage, Warhammer Army Lists, Warhammer Community

Games Workshop confirms the best and worst Warhammer 40k armies since LVO 2024, and we get to see how the latest Dataslate is working.

GW has been keeping a closer eye on the meta recently and is trying to keep everyone around that 50% win rate with the Dataslates, Rules Commentary, and FAQs. However, the game has a lot of rules and mechanics, so not every army will always stay balanced. The newest Dataslate hasn’t been out that long, but things are looking decent, and GW is already eyeing armies not doing well since the changes.

GW Confirms the Best & Worst Warhammer 40k Armies Since LVO 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

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.