How Big is a 40K Army? What You Need to Know

For those unfamiliar with the ever-expanding Warhammer 40,000 universe, the standard army size considered viable in matched play tabletop games ranges from 1500 to 2000 points. This typically translates from 25 models on the low end for elite armies to over 100 models for horde factions – though uniquely massive units like Titans can be fielded alone at this points level.

We will unpack the structure of army building in detail – from squad sizes to historical compositions to contrasting the relatively small tabletop conflicts with the billions-strong armies described in the grimdark setting‘s lore. My goal is to provide newcomers definitive insight on the scale and investment behind this rewarding hobby – both time and financial.

Matched Play Standard: 1500 to 2000-Point Armies

First, per the official Matched Play rules used in tournaments and most pickup games:

"A game of Warhammer 40,000 is played using Armies. Although Armies can be of any size, a standard game is played with Armies that have an initial total muster of around 2,000 points. The guidelines presented here are for Standard Play games of this size."

So while nothing stops you from fielding more or less (apocalypse games exceed 20,000!) the community norm centers around 1500 to 2000 point forces.

As a Warhammer enthusiast and semi-competitive tournament player for 10+ years, I believe this offers the ideal balance of variety and opportunity for creative list building without excess complexity. Let‘s examine typical model counts:

Points to Models Examples

Knight households fielding small brotherhoods of their devastating god-machines can fully utilize 2000 points with as little as a handful of models due to their extremely high points-per-model ratio. By contrast, an Infantry-focused Guard army may field over a hundred individual models including characters, officers, special weapons teams and dozens of 10-man squads.

Most codexes fall somewhere in between; Adeptus Custodes have excellent stats and wargear but lack model variety. Death Guard are reslient with decent firepower so can include more bodies. And "horde" style armies like Orks truly overwhelm with bodies holding shootas and choppas!

How you translate an army‘s points into models comes down to playstyle preference and tactics leveraging your chosen Faction‘s strengths…which leads us to:

Squad Organization, Hierarchy and Command Structures

While trillions-strong in the grimdark setting‘s lore, the ~100 warriors deployed to a tabletop battlefield must assemble into efficient fighting formations – this is represented by squad composition, force organization charts dictating mandatory elements, chains of command, and special rules for battlefield roles.

For example, the backbone…

full excerpt exceeds character limit

…hope this helps provide context and confidence as you muster your first cadre of 7th edition Warriors to defend humanity from the ravages of the 41st millennium!