When you're looking to dive into the world of tabletop gaming with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, the first thing you need to do is pick which faction you want to play. This is no easy task, and you honestly should put some serious thought into it, because this is an expensive and time-consuming hobby, and you want to be sure that you pick an army that is perfect for you.
When thinking about which faction you want to play, there can be many factors in making your decision. So, it's probably best to break down what you want out of the hobby. Are you in it to win it? If so, you should probably choose a faction that is known to be overpowered. Do you want to try to play on a budget? Well, then you need to pick a faction that is cost-effective. Or, are you getting into the hobby to enjoy the lore and have an army that is interesting to you? Then, you probably want to pick a faction that has a lot of lore to check out.
10 Seraphon (Order)
The reptilian Seraphon are a beacon of light and order across the Mortal Realms, battling Chaos wherever they find it.
Massive dinosaur-like monsters and magical mummified toads will not only intimidate your foes, they will completely wreck their armies. Seraphon are consistently a dominant faction in Age of Sigmar, in part because of their variety of play styles. You can level armies with huge monsters, or zap them from across the table with powerful magic.
9 Lumineth Realm-Lords (Order)
These Aelves really pack a punch. If you are looking for an army that has powerful magic, incredibly swift units, deadly ranged attacks, amazingly powerful special characters, and big-time versatility, the Lumineth Realm-Lords are for you.
The Lumineth Realm-Lords are one of the strongest factions in Age of Sigmar because you can play the army in so many different ways. And no matter how you decide to play them, you will most likely do well, because this faction pretty much excels at everything they do.
This faction is perfect for the beginner who is looking to jump right into competitive play. Plus, if you are a fan of lore, the Lumineth Realm-Lords story goes back to the birth of the Old World from Warhammer Fantasy, giving newcomers from the older canon a good way to break in to Age of Sigmar.
8 Maggotkin of Nurgle (Chaos)
If you love the Warhammer lore, then you absolutely need to check out the Maggotkin of Nurgle. Although they weren’t the first big storyline in Age of Sigmar, they have a ton of lore and novels about them, dating back to the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy.
The faction follows the Chaos God of disease and decay, Nurgle. This might not be an army for the squeamish though, because the aesthetic is quite, well, disgusting. The Maggotkin definitely takes after their namesake with maggots, disease, and pustules infecting most of the models in the line.
7 Nighthaunt (Death)
Nighthaunt are one of the many Death factions, and has its own huge story line that has tons of books, short stories, and articles that go along with them. Plus, this faction gives players the unique opportunity of making their own lore choices when building their army, because you can give them a backstory that goes all the way back to when the soldiers in your army were among the living.
The Nighthaunt are servants of the God of Death, Nagash, which adds a whole other level of flavour to this faction. Nagash has among the most extensive history of any character in the Warhammer universe, and you can follow his story from the Old World all the way through to the latest storyline of Age of Sigmar.
6 Stormcast Eternals (Order)
The ultimate in budget factions is none other than the mascot for Age of Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals. Bred from fallen heroes across the Mortal Realms and reforged by Sigmar himself, these ironclad warriors were the first new army to be introduced into Age of Sigmar. Because of this, they have been included in lots of boxed sets over the years.
Those boxed sets mean that you can buy this army in bulk for a relatively cheap price. Not only can you buy these boxed sets from Games Workshop if you want to buy them new, but you can find really cheap models on eBay or other reseller sites because of how many models were produced for this line.
Although the Stormcast Eternals are a faction that you can play for a much cheaper price, they're still very powerful, have huge variety, and they are pretty easy to paint. Stormcast Eternals can safely be said to be the best army to choose when starting the hobby if you're hoping to get a good all-round impression of Age of Sigmar..
5 Kruleboyz (Destruction)
Orruk factions can get quite expensive, because you need a lot of models to make an army, unless it comes featured in a starter box. Well, it just so happens that you can get your hands on a bunch of models from the Krulebozy faction in the most recent starter box, which also means you get models pretty cheap from second hand sellers.
Kruleboyz also have the option of fielding some big monstrous models that can fill out your army without putting a huge dent in your bank account. Beware though, because once you start collecting Greenskins, it's easy to get a little out of control whn you are putting togther your Waaagh!
4 Disciples Of Tzeentch (Chaos)
If you’re excited about painting your army and making it your own, Tzeentch can let you really go wild with interesting color schemes. Giant bird creatures, wizards flying on magical discs, and huge flying chariots pulled by stingrays-like monsters are just a few of the models that let you really have fun with painting.
The Disciples of Tzeentch is a pretty decent faction if you’re new to painting, and a lot of the models work well with a quick prime with a base color, add some wash, then just pick out details if you want.
3 Idoneth Deepkin (Order)
These water-based faction of Aelves really give you a lot of options when it comes to painting. Not only do Idoneth Deepkin have a good range of models from basic infantry to Aelves mounted on giant sea creatures, but a lot of models have cool added extras sculpted on to them like small fish or marine plant life. You have the option to go with basic sea life colors or get really wild with some cool color combinations.
This faction can really let you go wild with your imagination and let you use a huge variety of colors and still have a cohesive looking army when you are all said and done.
2 Skaven (Chaos)
One of the most diverse factions in the Mortal Realms are the ratmen known as Skaven. The reason why this faction is so varied is because of all the different sub-factions that you can make your army from.
The Skaven faction consists of various clans, which are almost entirely different factions themselves. You can create an army of monstrously horrific rat men, or plagued by disease-spreading Nurgle worshipers, or technologically advanced war machines, or a horde of murderous assassins, or just include a bit of everything.
This Chaos-based faction is for anyone who loves to have all the options under the sun when putting together an army.
1 Cities of Sigmar (Order)
Just like with Skaven, Cities of Sigmar has tons of different sub-factions. It's actually more like several armies than just one, as The Cities of Sigmar consist of several races from the Mortal Realms like humans, Duardin, Aelves, and even Stormcast Eternals.
This faction has a huge range of miniatures available to you, so you can make armies with all of your favorite models. And also just like Skaven, you can choose many ways to play your army. Do you like massive warmachines, or hordes of rank and file infantrymen, or even gigantic monsters? If so, this Order-based army is perfect for you.