The mascot of IG is just the Guardsmen. Every faction has tanks. The IG is defined by being regular joes fighting in this hellscape

From the moment I realised the weakness of the servo-skull appendage, it disgusted me.

The Exorcist is what sold me on Sister. Pipe organ missile launcher tank is 100% the best depiction of the armies aesthetic

T’au pathfinders. Saw some art of them fighting demons and I was sold

For Imperial Guard, they would want to show off their pride. It has to be THE BANEBLADE! Even in Dawn of War, if you played IG, you played it to bring 11 barrels of hell on the battlefield.

White scars being forgotten is the norm at this point but kor'sarro khan's model is too cool to not mention

The first model that got me into not just chaos but really into 40k at all was the forgefiend/maulerfiend

For necrons I always loved the generic warrirors. I think the elevator pitch for Necrons is "zombie robots" and if you are just sold on the robots part you can play ad mech but if your here for the zombies nothing is more perfect than the warriors.

The Knight Abominant is so so good, but as much of a joke it is to run a ton of War Dogs instead of a Tyrant or something in a Knight army, I love the Stalkers and Karnivores too much. They give such a great animalistic theme for Chaos as compared to the Imperial Knights

Id say the Gorkanaut is the thing that got me into orks. All the different guns, big klaw, and space for Infantry combines so neatly into an ultimate orky vehicle

The wraithknight is pretty iconic for the Aeldari, a giant robot piloted by a pair of twins, one alive and one dead, with a gun that shoots black holes

I think my suggestion is to always show people the main Troops choice of an army. Because the Troops choice is the essence of the army boiled down to its most approachable. Not visually busy like the character choices. Just the visual aesthetic of the army in its simplest form. Plus, you'll be painting a fair few of them if you start an army, so you need to know you like their look. Obviously, this shouldn't be taken as a hard and fast rule. In truth, you'd want to show a new 40K-er a variety of units for each army, so they get a representative sample. Seeing the Skitarii might not convey the "vibe" of AdMech as much as a Techpriest. And if you try to show off Tau without showing their mechs, you're not showing what's really cool about Tau. But in other armies, you don't fully "grok" what the army will look like if you don't get a look at their Troops. Imperial Guard always needs its infantry squads, and indeed are half of what differentiates one Guard army from another, aesthetically. Swarms of 'Gaunts convey a Tyranid army's impression of endless hungry hordes. And nothing captures the "you are playing an army of Terminators" quite like Necron Warriors. NOT showing the Troops off can almost seem deceptive.

I got into Tau from Dawn of War, so the Skyray and Hammerhead is absolutely what got me into the faction. Riptide's cool, but I far prefer the Broadside as the battlesuit rep. So many fun little details!

As an old time Necron player, the Monolith is definitely a contender for most iconic model for Necrons.

I started Orks not because of anyone model BUT because back in the day they had no real vehicle models. They ability to just tear apart any model and make it into a Trukk or Battlewagon is what sold me. Other than that I bought epic Nids because I loved the Aliens movie, & Space Marines just came in the box so yep built them too. 😂

The standard crisis suits are what got me into T’au Empire when they first released as the Tau back in 3rd.

Long before I started playing Warhammer 40k, I was into scale models, mostly world war two tanks. And one day, I saw at my local model hobby store, the old plastic ork battlewagon. That was the first Warhammer 40k model I ever saw! I had no idea what it was, but those jolly orks on the cover seemed to be having a good time! Warhammer plushies we need: Imperial Servo-skull. Chaos Nurgling. Tau drone. Tyranid Ripper. Necron Scarab. Ork Squig! What am I forgetting?

Dudes! You missed hard with the Deathwatch. Their mascot has got to be the Corvus Blackstar. Coolest flyer in the game and definitely exudes the ‘tacticool’ vibes of the chapter. BTW, the models you showed were deathwatch Intercessors (which are admittedly lame) not deathwatch veterans.

Thing that got me into Necrons was the Lychguard. They really capture the Tomb Kings IN SPAAAACE feeling of the steely boys.

The Raider is probably what made me get into Drukhari and feels like a very evergreen model to pick to rep the whole faction if you weren't going to pick 1 for each of the sub classes

The Tau mascots are def their battlesuits but the models that first caught my eye were their infantry. They looked like star wars clone/stormtroopers and I was like 'i want these'

I recently was gifted a couple of boxes of minis to paint and to have some fun with, and while looking around KZfaq for videos I found your channel. LOVE your format!

Canoptek Doomstalker. Those things looming over an army of metal skeletons sold me on necrons.

For CSM I'll argue the possessed. I idea of the corrupted space marnies in pursuit of more power at any cost. And they sell that to me the best. Raptors just give me spikey marines rather than an actually different army (raptors alone, not as part of a full CSM army)

The Tesseract Vault is the main reason i picked necrons. if you dont know anything about the necrons it offers so many questions. so it really gives off that vibe that they are ahead in technology.

Meganobz are my pick for orkz. they have a good combination of having the bulky scrappy aesthetic of the vehicles, shows off some of the crazy weapons, its all attached to a roaring monster and to top it off the tongue and cheek name of the unit shows off the armie's humor

I think you missed the double chain wielding half naked angry chaos marines of World Eaters. And Death Korps of Krieg definitely needed a showcase.

Now with a 100% more disturbing thumbnail thanks to the brilliant ideas of our patrons.

For Space Marines, my favorite model and the one that got me hooked on Space Marines, was and always will be the old Castaferrum Dread. I've loved it since DoW2.

Former Tau player here. I actually got into them because of specifically the Kroot and the Hammerhead, I think the Riptide looks dumb as hell. Makes me sad the GW didn't advance the xenos coalition aspect of the tau and just doubled down on battlesuits with them.

I think for Drukhari, the Ravager is really the best model to represent their evil space pirate aesthetic. It’s also the model that got me into Drukhari originally!

What sold me on world eaters is simply just the berzerkers. Like thats the army lol. I saw red and gold and decorations... but then immediately contrasted with barbarians in power armor and I'm like "I want that. Those guys are cool". The poses too for the models are just too cool. I just wish that the chaos demon starter box was more chaos undivided and had models from all sections than bloodletters and Khorne. Like you said, its collecting Khorne lol

Personally Kelermorph is iconic of genestealers to me. It's the posing as rebellious heros dedicated to fighting for freedom perfectly combined with the alien body horror and unfeeling adaptability and manipulation.

I play Imperial Fists…. And having joined the hobby at the height of TTS, I’d have to say the Centurions really got me interested.

For me, it was the Khorne Berzerkers many many years ago. Plus my big brother going with Space Marines, so of course I needed to be the cooler version. Also, it ain't a CSM model if painting and assembling it doesn't hurt. Gotta have them spikes

calling draigo an 'ancient sculpt' and I think to myself "eh didn't he come out recently, there were all the memes about that codex!", and then I remember that was over 10 years ago...

The models that got me really excited to get into 40k is the Death riders. I absolutely love the ww1 aesthetic of Death Korps, and seeing them on horses with lances in a universe as OP as 40k made me love them.

This doesn't feel like a video about "most iconic models" in each faction as it does a video about "what we like" and "factions we don't like..."

What got me into death guard was the blight lord terminator specifically with a flail of corruption

Chaos Space Marine Terminator with Autocannon. I went on to collect dozens of termies before I got out of the hobby, and they still make me smile when I see them in videos.

I've got to say - for Sisters, to me it HAS to be the Immolator. Fast, decorative, and brings holy fire right to the enemy

1 of the 1st models you build wrong or gets damaged makes the best mascots. For genestealers an acolyte leader I made with its body backwards is my favourite, put some tyranid spikes on his now back, it's now a metamorph leader (with 44 acol's and 22 meta's) it doesn't stand out but when looking at the horde closely he's there. For characters i built a 2nd female mage cutting up her staff to swap it round changed the knife and head too, but it doesn't go above the meta dude the patriarch is a great model too, but for horde armies like gsc etc the mascots should be a trooper. (Agree with guards it's a tank)

I really like this episode a lot. Excellent, and fun to see.

the redemptor dread made me so sad, I loved the old dreadnought model its a little gunbox

The Canoptek Doomstalker is what got me into Necrons. War of the World-esque alien with a big gun

Completely agree with the Redemptor Dread for Space Marines. Dreadnoughts are just such an iconic piece of Space Marines.

For me the first time i saw the Bladeguard veterans i knew they should be the posterchildren for space marines forevermore and I'm somebody who stopped playing SM the moment I saw a primaris marine and knew my existing collection was going the way of the dodo. Also I was the space wolf player who never owned any thunderwolf cavalry. I started playing that army becuase I love the aesthetic and (old) rules for blood claws.

Just come across your channel and i really like it, have a sub!

There were two Tau models that made me ultimately decide to play them, and you picked both of them. I'm so glad to see the return of Riptide spam recently, that's the kind of list I originally set out to field.

The Flying Hive Tyrant got me into the Tyranids. For AoS, Light of Eltharion from the Lumineth Realm-Lords got me into that entire system.

I know this is your opinions but...I mean...the standard Custodian guard models are imo the most iconic Custodian models

I totally get your reasons for the Hekaton for LoV but for me it feels too similar in vibe to say IG or Tau. The thing that made me get into LoV was the Thunderkyn, everything about the lil guys needing exo-skeletons to carry big guns that even in an exo frame suit were still pretty short is brilliant imo

The devilfish frame is really really cool, guys!

I will never forget my friend convincing me to buy the old dark vengeance box, the second I saw that helbrute I was hooked. Of course that's the one model that got lost in the move lol.

17:00 I realize this is for 40k, and not AoS, but I'll say that Tzaangor are what got me into Disciples of Tzeentch in that game. I'd gravitated towards Beastmen when I played Total Warhammer, and Tzaangor were my bridge over when I started investigating the tabletop.

Y'all nailed nids for me. For tau though, is have to say it's the stealth suits, my dad had a unit of them he converted to be jumping around am imperial city and I haven't felt different about them since.

6:30 - New Turret gun profiles (outside of that meme Autocannon) are actually all viable in some ways. I messed around in a game on Saturday with a mix of Battle Cannons, Demolishers, a Vanquisher and a Plasma Executioner (I own 6 sue me). All of them did their part in a way, and felt actually useful. I love this video idea and watched the whole thing, I just wanted to throw the PSA out there that LR turret options are more than just the Demolisher now lol

Necron Warriors were the first Warhammer model I saw that made me take interest in Necrons, but it was the Doomstalker that really got me into it. My T’au friend actually got into it for the tanks, specifically the hammerhead. So I find what you said about that quite funny. I too think their battlesuits are cooler though

space marines had always caught my attention, but it was actually Skitarii rangers that got me properly into 40k got me to buy my first models and paints. Now I've got a bunch of ad mech, 2 knights and 6 armigers, a bunch of necrons, and the startings of some iron hands, all since a quarter of the way into last year

I loved the look of the boyz and I bought a box and the rest is history

Hilariously, the Noise Marine is what got me interested in building a Chaos army, because it was just so cool and goofy. I switched over to Deathguard after a while because the models are just a joy to paint, but if we ever get proper Noise Marine units, I'm gonna be all over 'em.

Onager dunecrawler for ad mech is like THE iconic vehicle which got me into ad mech. Dominus is sick with his spidery legs, Skitarii are Gorgeous and my fave like rank-and-file troop (distinguishing from Harlequins where not rank-and-file) choice in all 40k, but the Dunecrawler is absolutely Majestic. A Crab tank which can be an AA battery with missiles, or a fucking Particle Accelerator as a cannon, or a more standard Big Gun. Gorgeous, i love them.

Honestly, the thumbnail for this made me watch. 👍 Also, The Ork Truck is what got me sold on Orks.

As a future Death Guard player, what really got me to love the faction was either Mortarion, although that seems a bit cheap, so the second would be the Lord of Virulence.

When I decided to do Dark Angels, the Land raider Crusader was my go to for them but I do agree deathwing knoghts are dope af

Necrons for me is the silver horde, the simple warriors, standing up and resing all over after just being shot.

For Deathwatch, I would say either the Watch Master or a sergeant/captain using the Xenophase Blade. It really embodies how all these different aspects come together to make the one army stand out as the best of what space marines have to offer, plus the gateway to also using xenos bits in building them.

Commander Farsight is what got me back into warhams, and if it wasn't him it'd be the ghostkeel's, such a dope suit

While I was already into CSM. I did have such a moment with the Forgefiend, particularly the one with triple ectoplasma cannons.

For me it was the Myphitic blight hauler that got me into Death Guard, the weird foul flesh on its back that you can only see when you rotate the model was just perfect.

The T'au commander in dawn if war is what got me into T'au. Still love them but my current favourite army is Death Guard and the model that got me was the Blightlord Terminator with the Flail of Corruption.

9:04 - they're correct, the redemptor dread is the one that pivoted me to play space marines, I WANT THAT MODEL!

I'm actually really into the Hammerhead tanks from the Tau, particularly because of my love for sci-fi VTOL vehicles ever since I played G-Police as a kid and now Frontier Pilot Simulator as an adult as well as the CSAT VTOL Gunship in Arma 3 Apex.

Every time I hear Bloodletters I think of my ABCs, therefore I would like a group of Bloodletters to be called a Sentence

For necrons I'd have to go with either the necron lord specifically with the ressurection orb, or the old spyder model. But the spyder model might be due to how I was introduced to necrons through dawn of war dark crusade. Just seeing a spyder gather bodies and then create a new squad really sold me on 'never ending undead army'.

think the character that always drawn me in was Kharn the Betrayer, mainly because of the meme's surrounding him. He's such a kidder. Always seemed to be more drawn to chaos marines but as of late, i definitely like Salamanders, particularly like HeStan and TuShan. As for Xenos, that one will always be easy, Captain "eat your heart out before i do it for you jack sparrow" Bludflagg.

I was about to buy an astra militarum box and then saw a box of fire warriors and immediately fell in love. By far I think that fire warriors and the xv8 crisis battlesuits are my mascots for tau.

Daemons is actually what sold me to Chaos Space Marines, I just love the idea of when guns are not enough, open the gates of hell to get the job done

My first model was the Tech Priest Dominus, and yes the servo skull broke off. But there’s a picture in the codex of a Dominus holding a severed servo skull in his little claw arm, so I have mine hold it

I don't quite know who the mascots could be, but as for the models that convinced me to start collecting each of my two armies, it was the redemptor dreadnought for my Ultramarines army, and it was the new Gazgkhull Thraka for my orks.

The humble Hormaguant is what got me into 40k. It all started when I was collecting some WWII models, and wanted a zombie-horde diorama. So they came in perfectly, then I got Hive Tyrant and now just waiting for the Tyranid warriors to be on sale to grab one.

This channel is just relaxing but not boring

CSM’s arch lord discordant sold me on it. A space marine riding a giant demon mech got me hooked.

For Aeldari it was Warp Spiders and the Avatar of Khaine, and for death guard it was Typhus

Models that sold me on the Factions I collect: Death Guard: Mortarion GSC: Aberrants Tyranids: Mawloc

As someone who’s only recently got into warhammer, I’ve got four factions and kits to choose from which are now in play since 10th is on the table; Grey knights is what I started with and I would pick the strike squad (but after seeing paladins I may change my opinion on that), black templars and the emperor’s champion, custodes and the blade champion because I really like how the power weapons on their faction look, and then the tau which is commander farsight

For me what got me into slaanesh was proxying creature caster minis as keeper of secrets. I have one actual KoS mini built as Shalaxi but I like to run as many as four KoS total in AoS

"No one is getting into Tau for the tanks" Me, who saw the hammerhead and just went "I WANT THAT"

Dang this Podcast helped me find the perfect staff for my 30K stormseer

So as a new player (going on about 1 year) - I have been pulled into 3 armys. Custodes - it’s the guard, they might be the bog standard troop, but they are also “the golden gods” of the books. Space marines - dreadnaughts. If it’s a big stompy robot, I have atleast 1 of them in my collection, from ironclads and contemptors, to deredeo a and leviathans. Lastly, Votann - for me while I love the land fortress. It’s the hearthkyn. The dude wearing the shades is the best head GW has ever released and I have been “robbing” my friends of the shade boys ever since. Of my 40 warriors, atleast 15 of them have shades on

A bit "off-topic" here but what actually got me into GW were the Freeguild armies that I got to see displayed when I was 10 at my local GW store. I wanted my first actual kit to be a Space Wolves one, but I just got regular Ultramarines. In middle school I really got into Eldar though, mostly because of the bikes and walkers, but never actually had Eldar. My first official army is T'au, which I got into cause mechs obviously, but also the piranhas weirdly and their overall aesthetic. Gotta say though, I really love the Ghostkeel's design over the Broadside.

The deathwatch have the corvus blackstar.when I saw that stealth hovercraft I knew I needed it

Funny you guys mentioned T’au looking like a Gundam because the Space Marines looking vaguely like a Zaku is what made me interested in Warhammer. The Tyraniea also reminding me of other space horror monsters really helped as well

For CSM I'd argue Possessed. Astartes are super soldiers in big, chunky power armor. What makes CSM unique from that is that they've spent lifetimes in a roiling eldritch dimension getting changed by its tides and the god-like entities within it. Possessed are exactly what one might expect from that description, they're still super soldiers in power armor, but they've been mutated to the point that the armor is breaking apart, and what armor is there not only has the spikes, but also looks like its own living being that's fused to the space marine's body.

Sorry for the late comment (just found your video) but how did you edit the animation of the model images in the corners with your voices? Also, I'm building my first and only army in 40k because Tyranid Warrios are so friggin cool. I think they are the epitome of what Tyranids are

i think picking between two flavor of boyz is on the right track for orks but man, it's gotta be the stormboyz for me. a boy with a looney tunes rocket strapped to his back

For Eldar I always liked the Avatar of Khaine far more than the Farseer (the first two iterations of it especially the version with the sword). For Harlequins the original Death Jester with Shrieker cannon was very cool, and the only Eldar model I ever bought.

Little late to the party, but Vulkan Hestan was the model that made me into a Salamander. I got into the hobby well into 8th so it was obviously an older model, but it is so detailed for it's age!

For Orks, I would've said Gahzkull Thraka, especially the older sculpt. The big horns, the gob, the kustom blasta for a hand, and the hydro pedals for feet. It was even used as the in-game model for Dawn of War for ages. Just can't beat that classic Big Boy With Klaw. Could be because I got exposed to 40k in the 90s to start, so I have those old images in my head. Screamer-Killers, Farseer or Howling Banshee. I had Necrons in the mid 00s and I always thought of Monoliths and the Necron Lord with orb and scythe. Guess some things have shifted. It's interesting seeing the evolution of what's iconic now. If you asked me 15 years ago what iconic Space Wolf model is, I'd say Rune Priest. I will say, with a huge soft spot for IG, it's either the Guardsmen themselves or a Commissar.

The hellions are usually the first thing I think of when people bring up Drukhari, gotta love the jet gliders.