See which armies are the best in the Warhammer 40k meta and which ones are flopping hard in our full Warhammer 40k tier list of the best and worst factions right now.
Games Workshop has been keeping a close eye on the competitive meta lately, trying to keep every Warhammer 40k army at that sweet 50% win rate with their Balance Dataslates, Points updates, Rules Commentary, and FAQs.
We’ll take a look at the 40k meta’s win rates and event wins in our breakdown of the best and worst Warhammer 40k factions, reshaping the competitive landscape over the last 30 days or so.
So, whether you’re gearing up for a tournament or just trying to figure out what to paint next, these are the top Warhammer 40k armies ranked by wins that you don’t want to miss!
Most Popular Warhammer 40k Factions to Play: Tier List
Updated on October 8th, 2026 by Rob Baer with the latest meta and tier list.
- Meta check (October 8th, 2026): four weeks of 11th Edition data from September 10th to October 6th, 78 events and 5,275 players tracked, and Orks have muscled their way to the top of the board while two of last month’s S Tier armies fell out of it entirely.
- S Tier bullies: Orks (56.3%) and Deathwatch (55.7%) are the only armies above 55% this month, and Orks back it up with 14 event wins on the game’s largest player base.
- A Tier bracket-wreckers: Adeptus Custodes (54.5%), Necrons (54.3%), Dark Angels (54.1%), Adepta Sororitas (54.1%), Adeptus Mechanicus (52.8%), and Leagues of Votann (52.7%) all punish sloppy reps fast, and Mechanicus (+6.1) and Sisters (+5.9) are the two biggest risers on the whole board.
- B Tier “earn it” zone: Chaos Daemons (50.9%), Emperor’s Children (50.9%), T’au Empire (50.8%), Tyranids (50.3%), Death Guard (50.1%), Genestealer Cults (49.7%), Space Wolves (49.5%), and Grey Knights (48.5%) sit close enough to even money that a tuned list still makes cuts.
- C to D Tier grind: Space Marines slipped to 46.0% and lost the most-played crown to Orks, Thousand Sons (47.4%) and Drukhari (44.2%) both fell more than four points, and Astra Militarum (42.3%) and Blood Angels (41.6%, dead last) wait on the next dataslate.
If you’ve been wondering which factions are actually running the tables in 40k right now, or which armies are making the current meta feel extra rude, the answer is one of these armies. Orks have taken the top spot at 56.3%, with Deathwatch sitting right behind them, but Chaos Daemons have tumbled out of the top entirely.
Plus, two armies that were flat-out miserable a month ago, Adeptus Mechanicus and Adepta Sororitas, have clawed their way all the way up into A Tier. But not every army fared so well, as the Thousand Sons fell almost five percent in win rate and Blood Angels dropped straight through the floor to dead last.
Current Warhammer 40k Tier List: 11th Edition, 2026
The latest Warhammer 40k tier shake-up is already painting a pretty clear picture of who is running the table and who is scrambling for answers.
S Tier is where the real problem children live right now, with the best win rates in the field, massive overperformance, and a ridiculous stack of event wins. These are the armies setting the pace, and if your tournament plan doesn’t have answers for them, you may have a hard time. Right now, Orks and Deathwatch are dominating the 40k meta overall.
Warhammer 40k Meta: Top Factions A & B Tiers
A Tier is where the bracket-wreckers live, and it’s a crowded room this month: Adeptus Custodes (54.5%), Necrons (54.3%), Dark Angels (54.1%), Adepta Sororitas (54.1%), Adeptus Mechanicus (52.8%), and Leagues of Votann (52.7%).
Mechanicus and Sisters are the comeback stories here. Both were stuck in C Tier a month ago under 48.5%, and they’ve each climbed roughly six percentage points since. Mechanicus is pulling a 1.59x overrepresentation in the top cut on just 123 players, and Sisters back it up with five event wins, which is more than Dark Angels managed.
Necrons deserve a shout too. They jumped from 51.1% to 54.3% on 320 players, so this isn’t a handful of hot pilots padding the number. Dark Angels went the other way, sliding from first place at 56.3% down to 54.1%, and with event wins dropping from nine to four and a 0.80x overrepresentation, they just aren’t winning quite as much as before.
B Tier is the big “earn it” middle: Chaos Daemons (50.9%), Emperor’s Children (50.9%), T’au Empire (50.8%), Tyranids (50.3%), Death Guard (50.1%), Genestealer Cults (49.7%), Space Wolves (49.5%), and Grey Knights (48.5%).
Chaos Daemons took the hardest hit in this group, dropping almost five points out of S Tier and going from six event wins to one. Death Guard made the opposite trip, climbing more than five points out of D Tier to sit right at even money. Honestly, it’s a good sign for the meta to see this many armies at an almost perfect 50% win rate.
Warhammer 40k Meta: C & D Faction Tiers
C Tier is where the games get tough: Thousand Sons (47.4%), Chaos Space Marines (47.4%), Imperial Agents (47.2%), World Eaters (47.1%), Black Templars (46.6%), Chaos Knights (46.1%), Space Marines (46.0%), Aeldari (45.6%), Imperial Knights (45.4%), and Drukhari (44.2%).
Space Marines will always be the hardest to judge as good or bad. They aren’t even the most-played army in 40k anymore (Orks passed them with 397 players to their 331), and they still slid from 47.9% to 46.0%. So, that’s still a ton of people losing a whole lot of games with Marines.
Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Aeldari, and Drukhari all fell somewhere between three and a half and five points this month, and three of them were sitting in A or B Tier a month ago. Thousand Sons are the odd one out, though, since a 1.29x overrepresentation says the people who stuck with them are still finding top tables.
Then you get to D Tier, where the grind is real: Astra Militarum (42.3%) and Blood Angels (41.6%).
That’s it, just two armies, sitting almost two full points below everybody else. Blood Angels slid from 44.3% to 41.6%, with one event win across 765 games and a 0.51x overrepresentation. Astra Militarum actually ticked up half a point to climb out of last place, which says more about how rough the Angels have it than how good the Guard are.
At the moment, this is less “sleeper pick” and more “self-inflicted challenge run.”
Faction Win Rates: Warhammer 40k Meta (October 8th, 2026)
Thanks to Listhammer, BCP, and Auspex Tactics for the latest Warhammer 40k meta data.
Numbers below cover 78 events and 5,275 players between September 10th and October 6th, 2026. Singles events only, at 2,000 points, five-plus rounds, 16-plus players, with mirror matches stripped out, and 11th Edition data only. So basically no smaller events like Rogue Trader tournaments at local game stores.
| Faction | Win Rate |
| Orks | 56.3% |
| Deathwatch | 55.7% |
| Adeptus Custodes | 54.5% |
| Necrons | 54.3% |
| Dark Angels | 54.1% |
| Adepta Sororitas | 54.1% |
| Adeptus Mechanicus | 52.8% |
| Leagues of Votann | 52.7% |
| Chaos Daemons | 50.9% |
| Emperor’s Children | 50.9% |
| T’au Empire | 50.8% |
| Tyranids | 50.3% |
| Death Guard | 50.1% |
| Genestealer Cults | 49.7% |
| Space Wolves | 49.5% |
| Grey Knights | 48.5% |
| Thousand Sons | 47.4% |
| Chaos Space Marines | 47.4% |
| Imperial Agents | 47.2% |
| World Eaters | 47.1% |
| Black Templars | 46.6% |
| Chaos Knights | 46.1% |
| Space Marines | 46.0% |
| Aeldari | 45.6% |
| Imperial Knights | 45.4% |
| Drukhari | 44.2% |
| Astra Militarum | 42.3% |
| Blood Angels | 41.6% |
Top Warhammer 40k Army Rankings Now
Right now, the army that makes people groan when they see it across the table is Orks, sitting at 56.3% with 14 event wins and 16 undefeated X-0 finishes, the best marks on the board in both columns. And they’re doing it on 397 players, the biggest field of any army in 40k, so the WAAAGH! isn’t a few great players padding the number. The new Orks codex landed right in the middle of this window, and if anything, it looks like it poured promethium on the fire.
Deathwatch post 55.7%, but on 44 players and 219 games that’s far less concrete than the Ork results, and their 2.22x overrepresentation says whoever is fielding them knows exactly what they’re doing.
If you ask us, Adeptus Custodes are the scarier pick. They climbed to 54.5% with 11 event wins on 350 players, the second-biggest player base in the game, plus a 1.58x overrepresentation in the top cut. Necrons are right behind them at 54.3%, up more than three percentage points on 320 players.
Dark Angels (54.1%) and Chaos Daemons (50.9%) are the two armies that fell off the top of this list. Dark Angels slipped a couple of points but kept it respectable, while Daemons dropped almost five and went from six event wins to one.
The Mid Tier: Warhammer 40k Army Rankings By Faction
If you want the tier where 40k still feels like 40k, this is it: Chaos Daemons, Emperor’s Children, T’au Empire, Tyranids, Death Guard, Genestealer Cults, Space Wolves, and Grey Knights, all packed between roughly 48.5% and 51%.
Death Guard made the biggest move in this group. They were stuck in the basement of the last results at 44.7%, and they’re now at 50.1%, a five-point swing in four weeks. Genestealer Cults made a similar jump, 45.9% up to 49.7%, and they’re converting it too: three event wins on only 75 players and a 1.52x overrepresentation.
T’au slid back to 50.8% after last month’s climb, but six X-0 finishes and four event wins say the builds people figured out haven’t gone anywhere. Emperor’s Children landed at 50.9% with a 0.60x overrepresentation, so they’re winning plenty of games and not many Sundays.
Tyranids barely moved at all, going from 50.1% to 50.3%. Still perfectly playable, and about as close to GW’s 50% target as anybody on the chart.
Bottom Tier Ranking By Win Rates
Down here is where 40k starts feeling like a difficulty setting you picked on purpose: Thousand Sons (47.4%), Chaos Space Marines (47.4%), Imperial Agents (47.2%), World Eaters (47.1%), Black Templars (46.6%), Chaos Knights (46.1%), Space Marines (46.0%), Aeldari (45.6%), Imperial Knights (45.4%), Drukhari (44.2%), Astra Militarum (42.3%), and Blood Angels (41.6%).
Thousand Sons took the hardest fall of anybody in this group, dropping from 52.3% in A Tier to 47.4%. World Eaters and Aeldari gave back a big chunk of last month’s climb too, which is the downside of a jump that big: sometimes the meta was just lining up.
Imperial Agents climbed four points to 47.2% and posted the highest overrepresentation on the board at 2.51x, but that’s on 26 players, so it’s still just a few good players. Chaos Knights and Black Templars are in a stranger spot, with both armies going four weeks without closing out a single event.
Drukhari slid more than four points to 44.2%, and Imperial Knights sit right above them at 45.4% despite a small bump. Neither one is anybody’s idea of a sleeper pick yet.
Then there’s Blood Angels, dead last at 41.6%, with one event win and a 0.51x overrepresentation across 765 games. Astra Militarum climbed out of last place at 42.3%, but only by a hair. Either way both armies may need an update, and not a pep talk right now…
Final Thoughts on The Best & Worst Warhammer 40k Meta Armies
All of that aside, the latest Warhammer 40k tier list still feels like a big meta buffet where most armies get a decent plate, but a few are piling theirs sky-high. So, if you’re still picking a side, our complete guide to every Warhammer 40k army and race breaks down what each one actually plays like. Orks, Deathwatch, and Adeptus Custodes are clearly running the show.
Overall, the middle of the meta still looks pretty healthy, with a large group of factions like Necrons, T’au, and Death Guard hovering in that playable A- to B-tier space. The bottom, however, is still waiting for the next balance dataslate update to show a little mercy for factions like Astra Militarum and Blood Angels.
So, if you’re chasing trophies, study up on the top tables’ favorites, but if you’re just rolling dice for fun, plenty of factions still have the tools to surprise in the latest Warhammer 40k meta.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is meta in Warhammer 40k?
In Warhammer 40k, the meta is basically a snapshot of which armies, detachments, and lists are actually winning tournaments right now. It comes from tracked win rates and event results, not just whatever people are complaining about online. Every new Balance Dataslate, points update, or new codex can shake things up, so any 40k tier list is only as current as the data behind it.
What is the least popular 40k faction?
Based on competitive turnout in the tracked field used for this ranking, Imperial Agents were the least-played army, with just 26 players and 127 games out of 78 events and 5,275 tracked players. That small sample also makes their 47.2% win rate a lot harder to judge than factions with a thousand-plus games behind them. Games Workshop doesn’t publish faction sales numbers, so tournament turnout is one of the only public ways to measure popularity.
🔗 Related Reads:
- Weekly Warhammer 40k Tournament Coverage & Top Tier Army Lists
- Latest Balance Dataslate
- New 40k Meta Monday articles
- 40k Points Update & Changes
- Upcoming Warhammer Tournaments & Events
- A Complete Guide to All The Warhammer 40k Armies
Image Source: Auspex Tactics
Not sure why high player base is considered more impressive. Death Guard have the most wins and the highest playrate, which is statistically expected, and is less impressive than having most wins and a low playrate. Someone needs a stats lesson
Simply put, one is indicative of skill, and the other indicates a faction may be a little overpowered if “anyone” can do it, lol. Hope that clears it up for you.
High player count can be detrimental to the overall performance of a faction for example marines are the starter army for most players however new players aren’t as skilled as most players and can drag the statistics down however a complicated faction like admech with its low representation statistically bumps its numbers up as the more skilled players take to the stage also admechs price tag is just stupid in comparison but the point stands that skill will always beat over-representation