First 10 Done: Painting Through Meta Talk
We had one of those very classic hobby chats recently: it started with army win rates and somehow ended exactly where it should — with painted models on the table.
Wilini kicked things off by checking faction performance and immediately noticed that Death Guard were doing very well overall. A moment later the numbers got more specific: Death Guard at 56%, Necrons 50%, Votann 50%, Orks 47%, World Eaters 50%, and Black Templars at 43%. Which, obviously, did not stop the most important conclusion of the evening:
it doesn’t matter, because Black Templars are awesome anyway
And honestly, that is one of the healthiest ways to approach Warhammer 40k.
Meta is interesting, but not everything
The conversation quickly drifted into the usual question: how much do win rates actually tell us? Michał pointed out that raw statistics can be a bit misleading, especially when an army is rare. He compared it to Age of Sigmar, where a faction can sit at the top simply because almost nobody plays it.
That feels very familiar. Numbers are fun to look at, and they definitely shape expectations, but they rarely tell the whole story of why we pick an army, build a list, or spend evenings painting trim, armor panels, and purity seals.
And with a rebalance expected that same week, there was also the very real chance that today’s top faction might get knocked down a step anyway.
Back to the painting desk
The best part of the chat came at the end, when theory gave way to actual hobby progress. Michał dropped a simple update:
“First 10 done.”
That is always a great milestone. Not one test model. Not a half-finished squad. A proper first batch completed.
There is something especially satisfying about finishing the first ten models of a force. It is the point where an idea starts looking like an army. The painting scheme stops being theoretical, the basing starts tying everything together, and suddenly you can imagine what the full collection will look like.
We also had an earlier image in the chat while the discussion was still bouncing between factions and balance updates:
The real hobby takeaway
This little exchange was a perfect reminder of something we keep rediscovering in the hobby:
- faction strength changes
- balance updates come and go
- win rates move up and down
- but painted models stay cool forever
So yes, Death Guard may be tough. Black Templars may be struggling in the stats. Rebalances may be around the corner. But if the first ten are painted, that is already a win.
And from our side, we always love seeing that kind of progress — the moment when the discussion stops being about percentages and starts being about actual miniatures.
Here’s to the next ten.