Set in the Grimdark environment of the 41st Millennium, Warhammer 40,000 is undoubtedly Games Workshop's most popular game to date. This 28mm wargame typically features 2000 point armies battling for control of the galaxy. Offering several ways to play the game such as Matched Play, Open Play and Crusades; the game of Warhammer 40k sees the 3 allegiances of Forces of Chaos, Forces of the Imperium and Xenos come to blows.
After the events of The Horus Heresy some of the defeated traitor legions surrendered themselves to Chaos, with their devotion being towards either 4 of the Chaos Gods or Chaos Undivided (Abaddon). The Chaos Gods are as follows: Nurgle who is the God of Death and Rebirth, Khorne who is the God of War and Bloodshed, Slaanesh who is the God of Pleasure and Hedonism and Tzeentch who is the God of Fate and the Changer of Ways.
Some of the most well known Chaos factions are the Death Guard and Thousands Sons who are all Chaos Space Marines. Chaos Daemons are also prominent among the Chaos Factions as beings created and twisted by the Warp.
In the 10,000 years since The Horus Heresy, technology has regressed significantly leading to the Imperium of Man idolising the now golden throne-bound Emperor and his tyrannical way of asserting power over all of humankind. The Imperium of Man’s goal, under the will of the Emperor, is to expand their control over the Milky Way and destroy all Chaos and Xenos forces.
Some of the factions that fight in the name of the Emperor are the Space Marines (who are split into chapters such as the Black Templars, Blood Angels and Ultramarines), the Astra Miliatarum who are the common foot soldier of the Imperium (split into regiments such as the Death Korps of Krieg, Catachan and Cadians) and the Adepta Sororitas.
The final category of factions are defined by their lack of humanity, the Xenos. What the Imperium defines as alien, the Xenos are not one race but a series of unique factions that have vastly different physical appearances and motives.
The Tyranids, also known as The Great Devourer are insectoid creatures that travel the galaxy in hive fleets to infiltrate a planet with Genestealer Cults before arriving to consume.
The Necrons are a race of mechanical warriors, who were once Necrontyr until Mephat’ran the Deceiver tricked the Silent King into the biotransference of their kind into Necrodermis bodies. Now in their bodies of immortal metal, the Necrons utilise their reanimation protocols to send endless hordes to fight for them.
The Orks are an unorganised and rowdy faction who, whilst less advanced than their other Xenos counterparts, persist through brute strength and the power of WAAAGH! Groups of Orks are led by the biggest of their kind and can will things into existence due to psychic powers they are unaware of.
