#12 : Dark Eldar

Dark Eldar

The Dark Eldar, the evil cousins the the Eldar, first appeared at the "Fall of the Eldar", when the god Slaanesh consumed the souls of trillions of Eldar. Before that time, the Dark Eldar resided in the giant city of Commorragh, tucked inside the Webway, a vast network or passageways through the Warp. Commorragh was protected from the havoc wrought by the birth of Slaanesh, but its residents soon found their souls being slowly claimed by the chaos god. They also found that if they absorbed the pain and torment from another's soul, they could escape the effects of time. As long as they fed on the souls of prisoners, they could live forever. From that point on, they were doomed to a life of piracy. The Dark Eldar perform sneak attacks, capturing as many hostages as they can, and disappear into the Webway, emerging at Commorragh to torture and sacrifice their victims. Additional information on the Dark Eldar can be found here:  Dark Eldar - Lexicanum

The Dark Eldar have a decent number of units, and also a decent number of color schemes. Their basic infantry can be painted rather easily, but their more advanced units (Grotesques, Wracks, other beasts) take some more time and effort. Their tactics are slightly more complex than most, and winning a battle with them might take some practice. I would recommend Dark Eldar to beginner/advanced to advanced gamers.

#11 : Eldar

Eldar

 Once the greatest race in the universe, the Eldar succumbed to their desires, resulting in the "Fall of the Eldar". The Chaos god Slaanesh was born through the Eldar vices, and it's birth consumed the souls of the majority of the Eldar race. The result torn a hole in space, resulting in a perpetual Warp-storm known as the Eye of Terror. With the majority of the Eldar wiped out, the survivors sought refuge on giant world-sized ships known as Craftworlds. They are now a broken people, without a purpose. With their numbers dwindling, the Eldar roam the universe in search of a way to restore their noble race to its former glory.

Eldar, similar to Space Marines, have innumerable color schemes. You may choose many of the ones shown in Codex: Eldar or even create your own. They are a great army for beginners through advanced, as their color schemes range from the most basic to the most detailed (The eldar farseer shown to the right illustrates a very detailed and colorful figure).

Overview: Eldar are a good army for any painter. You can choose the difficulty of the color scheme, which is great for people who like their models either very simple or extremely detailed and complex.

#10 : Orks

The Xenos Threat

On to some of the more interesting races of Warhammer 40k....

Orks

Spread across nearly every planet in the universe, the Ork race outnumbers any other race. However, due to their war-like nature, they are split into numerous warbands, and would surely conquer the universe should they ever choose to unite.

Although the initial history of Orks is unknown, it is believed that they were engineered by an ultra-intelligent race for the purpose of universal domination. They possess an innate knowledge of mechanics and engineering on an instinctive level. This allows groups of feral orks, who have spawned in a new area or planet, to form a tribe capable of constructing weapons and war-machines. Their anatomy and physiology is a combination of animal and fungus. As an Ork grows, it released spores into the ground, which grow into Orks or Gretchins after some years. A planet that is infested with Orks will be so forever, and spores can travel across galaxies on a traveler's shoe. 

Orks, unlike most other races, grow their entire lives. An ork tribe is lead by the largest of the group, who changes periodically. Being an extremely aggressive race, Orks fight among themselves until a worthy leader emerges to initiate a Waaaaagh!, a massive unification of ork tribes for a single purpose. The orks will continue their Waaaagh! until a significant number of the orks have died or there are no enemies left to fight. Additional info on the Orks can be found here: Ork - Lexicanum

Orks are a cool race. A general ork army has a lot of units, so be sure that you like painting before you chose them. They have only a few color schemes, but they look great when you do them correctly. You could also try creating your own color scheme, like the one shown above, but it is a little harder then with some other races, like Chaos Space Marines or Imperial Guard.

Overview: Orks are a good race for both intermediate and advanced painters. They are ok for newbies, but be patient as the first few might not look so great.

#9 : Chaos Daemons

Chaos Daemons

 Servants to gods of Chaos, Daemons are created by a fraction of a Chaos god's own power, and can be absorbed back into the god at whim. Each of the four major Chaos gods gains its power from the emotions of mortal beings. Daemons cannot exist in realspace for long periods of time, and are banished to the Warp (an immaterial dimension) upon death. Needing human psychers to open Rift Gates to real space, Daemons very often ally themselves with Chaos Space Marines. A Daemon can also possess a mortal body, bending the host to their will, or opening a Rift Gate using their soul. The opening of these gates can cause distortion of the real space, and cause sometimes consume entire planets.

Chaos Daemons have many different types of units, including Greater Daemons, Lesser Daemons, Steeds and Beasts aligned with each of the four major gods. The four major Gods of Chaos are as follows:

-Khorne,  the Blood God, specializes in ruin and rage
-Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, is linked to sorcery and magic
-Nurgle, the Great Lord of Decay, represents disease and plague
-Slaanesh, the Prince of Excess, is the lord of pain, pleasure, lust and greed

Chaos Daemons are almost as cool Chaos Space Marines. Their paint schemes are a little bit more difficult, but they do look great when they are well painted. Daemons are for a little more advanced painter, but the payoff is great. I recommend them for pretty much anyone.

#8 : Chaos Space Marines

Forces of Chaos

Finally departing from the Imperium of Man, we move on to the forces of Chaos. 

Chaos Space Marines

             

Once all men loyal to the Emperor, the Chaos Space Marines are now twisted, mutated beings, dedicated only to inflicting pain and misery upon the universe.

The origin of the Chaos Space Marines is one of treachery and betrayal. When the Emperor saw the doom of mankind approaching, he began the Primarch program, creating twenty super-humans out of his own genetic code. The Chaos gods, jealous of the Emperors power, scattered the Primarchs across the Universe, sowing the seeds for greatness and betrayal. As the Emperor discovered the Primarchs one by one on his conquest of the galaxy, giving each of the twenty Primarchs a Space Marine legion of their own. The Emperor had a fighting force that was unstoppable, and he had no idea his biggest enemy was his own army.

Lead by the most most praised of the Primarchs, Horus, fully half of the twenty Space Marine Legions betrayed the Emperor, launching a full-scale attack on Earth. At the end of an epic battle, Horus lay dead and the Emperor lay mortally wounded. The traitor legions abandoned their siege of Earth and fled.  What followed was "The Scouring", a witch-hunt throughout the galaxy for all those still loyal to Chaos. The traitors were hounded into the 'Eye of Terror', a giant warp storm light-years wide. There, the traitor legions found themselves under contorted and corrupted, creating a race of evil renegades, made of rage and fury - the Chaos Space Marines
For more information on the Horus Heresy and the Chaos Space Marines, look here : Horus Heresy - Lexicanum   Chaos Space Marines - Lexicanum


 

The Chaos Space Marines are a great race. Not only do they have a lot of great units, including some from the new Dark Vengeance box set, they have innumerable painting schemes and can be allies with the Chaos Demons (almost as awesome). Also, they are very easily converted. Because Chaos Space Marines can have mutated limbs, Nurgle's Rot spewing out of their armor, or extra weapons growing from their bodies, this makes green stuff (a modeling epoxy used for converting) very useful.

Overview: Chaos Space Marines are a lot of fun. They are a little harder to paint than their Imperial brethren, but not by much, and have just as many color schemes. A great choice for new and veteran gamers alike.

#7 : Sisters of Battle

Sisters of Battle

 Also known as the Adepta Sororitas, the Sisters of Battle are the all-female subdivision of the Inquisition. Their chief duty is to defend the many shrines and fortress-cathedrals throughout the Imperium, as well as their sacred relics. Also, the Sisters of Battle are called upon to escort hierarchs through war zones, eliminate heretical leaders and launch surgical strikes to recover long-lost artifacts from enemy hands. Additional information on the Sisters of Battle can be found here : Adepta Sororitas - Lexicanum

I don't know a whole lot about the Sisters of Battle. What I do know is that they don't have that many units. The squad shown above is one of the only ones they have. Their paint schemes however, are relatively simplistic. I think they are a great pair with the Imperial Guard, now that the new Warhammer 40k rules allow allies.


Overview: The Sisters of Battle, in my opinion, are a little boring. With so few units and a boring paint scheme, they are just not for me. The only way I would use them is as a supplement to Imperial Guard. 

#6 : Imperial Guard

Imperial Guard

The "Hammer of the Emperor", the Imperial Guard, are the main and most numerous fighting force of Mankind. Scattered across the universe, divided into countless armies, the Imperial Guard are concentrated mostly where the fighting is most fierce. With hundreds to thousands of infantry, battle tanks and thunderous artillery, the Imperial Guard crush the foes of the Imperium with brute force.

The  Imperial Guard probably have more  units than any other army. With regular infantry, Catachan fighters, Ogryns, Kasrkin Squads, Sentinels, Valkyries, and tons of tanks, you have so many choices if you choose to paint Imperial Guard. 

Painting Imperial Guard can be pretty difficult. Besides the basic infantry, the armor on most of the units is pretty detailed and hard to paint. Also, faces are very, very difficult to paint ( at least for me - I have never painted a face that looked even close to human). And because almost all infantry units have uncovered faces, you will run into this problem a lot. In my opinion, a model with a poorly painted face makes the whole model look bad.

Overview: An Imperial Guard army has a lot of models, so you should only choose them if you really like painting. I would also recommend them to more advanced painters, as most of their units take some skill to paint correctly.