Top 5 Age of Sigmar Armies: A Guide to the Best Starter Factions
Stepping into the Mortal Realms is an epic moment.
You’re ready to dive into a universe of myth, magic, and unending war, but first, you face the most important choice a new player can make: choosing your army. Finding the right fit from among the Age of Sigmar armies is a real investment of your time and passion, so it’s worth getting it right.
To help you navigate this choice, we’ve broken it down into three simple pillars:
- Looks (the “Rule of Cool”)
- Gameplay (how they feel on the table)
- Painting (how easy they are to get battle-ready)
We’ve picked five factions that are fantastic starting points and rated them on a 1-5 scale (5 being the best or easiest for beginners) to help you find your perfect fit.
Let’s find your first army.
The Top 5 Age of Sigmar Armies for New Players
Stormcast Eternals – The God-King’s Champions
Love the idea of heroic, heavily armored demigods sent down from the heavens on bolts of lightning? Sigmar’s chosen are the iconic heroes of the realms, but their immortality comes at the cost of their humanity, adding a tragic depth to their story.
- Looks: 5/5 Their aesthetic is classic high fantasy, with a huge range covering everything from stoic paladins to mighty dragon-riders.
- Ease of Painting: 4/5 They are designed for new painters. Their large, smooth armor panels are perfect for simple techniques with metallic sprays and washes. Plus, most of them wear helmets, so you can skip painting faces!
- Gameplay: 4/5 They are the ultimate all-rounders and very forgiving for new players. Their strategy is a classic “hammer and anvil” approach—hold the line with durable infantry and deliver a knockout blow with powerful deep-striking units.
Slaves to Darkness – The Everchosen’s Legion
Drawn to the darker side of fantasy? The Slaves to Darkness are the quintessential evil knights, clad in hellforged steel and fighting for the favor of the Chaos Gods. Their story is about ambition and the “Path to Glory,” which you can show off with custom details and trophies on your models.
- Looks: 5/5 Their modern model range is incredible, perfectly capturing the grim, martial might of a Chaos army.
- Ease of Painting: 3/5 The large armor plates are easy to work with, but the ornate, raised trim on almost every model can be a time-consuming challenge for a beginner.
- Gameplay: 5/5 They are a simple and effective melee army. They are incredibly durable, letting you learn the game without being punished for every mistake while teaching you the importance of board control.
Orruk Warclans (Ironjawz) – The Great Waaagh!
Forget subtlety. Do you just want to charge across the battlefield with the biggest, angriest Orruks and smash everything? Welcome to the Waaagh! Ironjawz are refreshingly simple: they believe might makes right and live for the thrill of battle.
- Looks: 4/5 They have a powerful, unsubtle aesthetic of pure aggression. The models are big, chunky, and look fantastic on their massive war-boars and dragon-like Maw-krushas.
- Ease of Painting: 3/5 The huge plus here is the extremely low model count; an entire army can be fewer than 30 models. The main challenge is the iconic yellow armor, which is a notoriously difficult color for beginners to get right.
- Gameplay: 4/5 They are the definitive “alpha strike” army, built to charge forward and hit with unmatched force. This teaches you the critical importance of deployment and the charge phase from your very first game.
Nighthaunt – The Legion of Grief
If you’re drawn to a gothic horror aesthetic, Nagash’s spectral legions offer a unique and atmospheric army. They are a swirling procession of ghosts, banshees, and wraiths, each a tormenting punishment for crimes they committed in life. It’s no surprise they are consistently ranked among the top 5 Age of Sigmar armies for visual impact.
- Looks: 4/5 Their ethereal, weightless models are some of the most dynamic in the game, creating a powerful sense of sorrow and terror.
- Ease of Painting: 5/5 This is arguably the easiest and fastest army to paint. A simple process of priming white, washing with a technical paint like Nighthaunt Gloom, and adding a quick drybrush gives you a fantastic result with minimal effort. The main drawback is that the models are physically fragile and can break easily.
- Gameplay: 3/5 This is a “finesse” army. They have unparalleled mobility, able to fly over terrain and enemies, but they are extremely fragile. They teach advanced movement tactics but are very punishing of mistakes.
Maggotkin of Nurgle – The Grandfather’s Rot
Looking for something truly unique? The followers of the Chaos God of plague are a grotesque yet joyful army of bloated warriors and mischievous demons. Their theme is that life thrives in decay, and they want to share that gift with everyone.
- Looks: 4/5 An unforgettable aesthetic of grotesque body horror. It’s a divisive look, but those who love it are completely dedicated to it.
- Ease of Painting: 5/5 This is one of the most stress-free armies for a new painter. The models are supposed to look messy and rotten, so mistakes often just add to the character. They are perfect for learning to use washes and technical paints to create disgusting effects.
- Gameplay: 4/5 They are the ultimate unstoppable force on the battlefield—incredibly durable but painfully slow. They teach you patience, positioning, and how to win a game by outlasting your opponent on objectives.
Honorable Mentions
Skaven
If you love the idea of an endless horde of chittering, backstabbing rat-men armed with mad-science weaponry, the Skaven are calling. They are a hilarious and deeply characterful faction, but be warned: they are a true horde army. You will be painting a massive number of models, which can be a difficult challenge for a first project.
Cities of Sigmar
Can’t decide between Elves, Duardin, and Humans? Why not play them all? The Cities of Sigmar are the “vanilla ice cream” of the Mortal Realms—a reliable, straightforward, and universally understood choice. Like a good chocolate cake, they are a comforting and solid pick, representing the disciplined mortal armies holding the line against the darkness. They offer huge variety but can sometimes feel a bit generic compared to more specialized factions.
Your Army, Your Story
So you’ve found them. Maybe it was the noble Stormcast, the brutish Ironjawz, or the grotesque Maggotkin, but one of those armies just felt right. You can already picture them on the tabletop, executing your grand strategy. That excitement is the best part of starting a new project.
There’s just one big step between the models in the box and the army in your head. Painting an entire force is a huge commitment, especially when you’re just starting out. Maybe you’re worried you won’t do justice to the awesome models you just picked. Or maybe you’d rather spend your precious free time planning tactics and actually playing the game.
And that’s perfectly fine.
Painting may not be your thing. You don’t need to spend months learning tricky techniques or testing color schemes just to enjoy your hobby. You’ve already got the passion and you’ve chosen your models. What matters is seeing them on the table, looking the way they were meant to: finished, detailed, and ready for battle.
You’ve made the exciting choice. Let us handle the painting.
Book a commission here.
