Counted from real recipes
The Easiest Warhammer Armies to Paint
Every faction we hold a colour scheme for, ranked by how many pots its full recipe actually needs — armour ramp, metals, skin and accents included. Counted from the same generated recipes our scheme pages sell, not from vibes.
| # | Faction | Game | Pots needed | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imperial Fists | 40k | 10 | full recipe & prices → |
| 2 | Daughters of Khaine | Age of Sigmar | 11 | full recipe & prices → |
| 3 | Ossiarch Bonereapers | Age of Sigmar | 11 | full recipe & prices → |
| 4 | Sylvaneth | Age of Sigmar | 11 | full recipe & prices → |
| 5 | White Scars | 40k | 11 | full recipe & prices → |
| 6 | Adepta Sororitas | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 7 | Adeptus Custodes | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 8 | Adeptus Mechanicus | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 9 | Astra Militarum (Cadian) | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 10 | Blood Angels | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 11 | Dark Angels | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 12 | Death Guard (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 13 | Fyreslayers | Age of Sigmar | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 14 | Grey Knights | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 15 | Imperial Fists (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 16 | Kharadron Overlords | Age of Sigmar | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 17 | Lumineth Realm-lords | Age of Sigmar | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 18 | Necrons | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 19 | Nighthaunt | Age of Sigmar | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 20 | Raven Guard | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 21 | Salamanders | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 22 | Stormcast Eternals | Age of Sigmar | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 23 | T'au Sept | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 24 | Thousand Sons | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 25 | Tyranids (Leviathan) | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 26 | Ultramarines | 40k | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 27 | World Eaters (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 12 | full recipe & prices → |
| 28 | Alpha Legion (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 29 | Black Legion | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 30 | Black Templars | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 31 | Blood Angels (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 32 | Dark Angels (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 33 | Emperor's Children (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 34 | Gloomspite Gitz | Age of Sigmar | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 35 | Imperial Knights (House Terryn) | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 36 | Iron Hands (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 37 | Orks | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 38 | Raven Guard (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 39 | Salamanders (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 40 | Seraphon | Age of Sigmar | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 41 | Skaven | Age of Sigmar | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 42 | Sons of Horus (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 43 | Space Wolves | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 44 | Thousand Sons (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 45 | Ultramarines (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 46 | White Scars (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 47 | Word Bearers (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 48 | World Eaters | 40k | 13 | full recipe & prices → |
| 49 | Death Guard | 40k | 14 | full recipe & prices → |
| 50 | Iron Warriors (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 14 | full recipe & prices → |
| 51 | Maggotkin of Nurgle | Age of Sigmar | 14 | full recipe & prices → |
| 52 | Night Lords (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 14 | full recipe & prices → |
| 53 | Space Wolves (Horus Heresy) | Horus Heresy | 14 | full recipe & prices → |
What "easiest" means here
Fewer distinct pots means fewer techniques, fewer transitions and a faster battle-ready army — it is the one measurable part of "easy". A one-colour armour scheme with silver trim needs half the paints of a scheme with two armour colours, freehand and glow effects. Each faction's count comes from its generated recipe: basecoat-to-highlight ramp, metals, skin and the faction's signature accents. Click through for the recipe itself, priced across 35+ paint ranges.
Pair it with the money question: the cheapest 40k armies to start · the cheapest AoS armies · what £200 starts