Intro to Warhammer 40K: The Armies – Enemies of Mankind

Chaos Demons vs Imperial Guard - Gamesday 2010

In the grim dark future of the 41^st millennium there is only war…

That’s rule number one when it comes to the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40K. The rest is easy…well, not necessarily, but you’re about to get a crash course in a series of upcoming posts. So first and foremost if you’re going to join in this grand hobby then your first task is to pick an army to play. Have no fear you can have multiple armies to indulge your “loota madness” with the Orks and your inner “tread head” with the Imperial Guard. But first you need to pick one to get started with.

There are twelve different factions or races to join in the battle for supremacy. In general you can divide every army into two basic divisions, those that serve the god Emperor of mankind, the Imperial Armies; and everyone else bent on destroying or subjugating humanity. The definition of good and evil are not always clear among all the forces in the universe and every army plays differently, offering you numerous tactical challenges and unique modeling\painting opportunities.

The enemies that are aligned against the struggling forces of humanity are numerous in the 40^th millennium. Some are biological and non human forces struggling for survival or driven by the need to destroy and consume:

There is the green tide of the Orks, a brutish green skinned race bred on battle, composed of scavengers of technology, speed freaks that paint their ramshackle “trucks” and bikes red to go faster, boyz that fill the mass of their number led by huge Nob warriors, that gather together in a Waaagh! under the guidance of a blood thirsty, iron jawed Warboss. The Orks are a savage army filled with powerful close combat who are as likely to kill their own as they are the enemy in their rage.

Ork Waaagh! horde by Sukigod of BoLS forum

The biological menace of the Tyranid’s travel in huge bio-hive fleets between worlds of various galaxies dropping spores on each world as they consume all materials in an effort to feed the great and single Hive Mind that directs all their actions. They are a carpet of carapaced, slimy, multi-teethed Gaunts, that are directed in their feeding frenzy by the monstrous Carnefex, Broodlord, Hive Tyrants, Zoanthropes, Tyrannofex, Tervagons, Trygons, and Warriors. Think Ridley Scott’s Aliens and you’ll have a good idea of what these things are like. They are known as a primarily close combat army either fielding numerous waves of many small mindless eating machines or the giant monstrous creatures rampaging through vehicles and infantry alike.

Tyranids by BigRed of BoLS

The Eldar, possibly the oldest race still in existence, are the slender, pointy-eared invaders led in their efforts to survive by the Exarches and Seer Council of their individual Craftworlds. They are known for their hard hitting firepower and quick and agile grav-tanks, able to strike efficiently with their hit and run tactics. Stong psychic abilities abound with the Eldar.

Eldar gravtanks by DrLove42 from BoLS Forum

The most technologically advanced army in the game is the Tau. They travel with their Septs, or clans, throughout the galaxy assimilating the lesser cultures into their ranks or eradicating them in services of the “greater good.” These blue skinned elementally tied warriors are known for their tremendous firepower they can bring to bear in incredible number and from the greatest of ranges of any army. The Tau are known for their gun wielding firewarrior troops, the hail of fire from their Ion Cannons and Rail guns mounted on the back of their grav-tank Hammerheads and Broadside battle suits.

Tau Crisis Suit and Drones by Ajeffersonism of BoLS forum

Perhaps the forces shrouded in the most mystery are the ancient and oldest race, the little understood Necron. An army of mechanical robots driven forward by a dark and mysterious power. Little is known about the Destroyer and his army of metal servants. They are known for their only vehicle the Monolith making it capable for army units to teleport around the table. They are led by the powerful C’tan who wields the Resurrection Orb allowing the destroyed members of it’s force to rise again and continue the battle.

Necron from BigRed from BoLS

Foremost against the forces of humanity are those dedicated to the service of and twisted by the Ruinous Powers of the Chaos gods: Khorne the god of blood, Nurgle the god of decay, Slannesh the god of desire, and Tzeetch the god of mystery and magic:

The shadow dwelling siblings of the Eldar that chose to forfeit the old ways and succumb to the hedonistic path of the chaos god Slannesh are the Dark Eldar. They perform lighting raids on various worlds to collect samples from each civilization and kill and maim simply for the inherent joy of stimulating their drug crazed bodies into feeling again, even if it’s pain. The Dark Eldar are a dangerously fast close combat army with fragile armor and poisoned weapons capable of damaging even the most resilient of enemies. They carry perhaps the most potent anti-mech weapon in the Lance Cannon, capable of reducing any vehicle to a flaming wreck.

Dark Eldar by Grendelslair.org

The Chaos Demons are simply those servants closest to their gods, spawned from the in between world of the Warp where Chaos rules unrestrained. At times the Warp breaks through into the world of the living and these nightmarish creatures burst forth or are summoned by the powers of a chaos sorcerer. All four of the Chaos gods are represented within the Demons army, each god giving the units special abilities. Interestingly this is the only army that most of the models can be used also in Warhammer Fantasy as the demons have been around for a long, long time. The arrive to the battle field in two waves at random times and are capable of shredding even the most resilient space marine lines with their powerful attacks.

Chaos daemons by Nyhil from the 11th Co. Forums

Finally there are the betrayers of humankind, the lost sons of the Emperor and servants of the Chaos gods, the Chaos Space Marines. The traitorous brothers of their Imperial counter parts and sharers of the Emperors own gene-seed, these legions were led against the god-emperor after their founding primarchs, the Emperor’s own “sons,” forged an alliance with the forces of Chaos in an attempt to overthrow the near immortal ruler. Chaos Marines are powerful much like their counterparts, though in some ways more so as they have been gifted certain special powers based on what god they serve. In addition to their gained skills they also have limited access to the demons of Chaos as well. They are often a hard hitting elite army efficient at both close combat and ranged fire, though they excel most with an aggressive play style.

Chaos Space Marines by Lykum from BoLS forum

We’ll continue our discussion later with the forces of the Imperium, until then which army is the most appealing to you and why?