Faction Guide
Astra Militarum
Ordinary humans. No gene-mods, no power armor, no psychic gifts. Just a lasgun, a flak vest, and orders to hold the line against things that would make a Space Marine hesitate. The bravest faction in the game — and the one with the best tanks.
Playstyle
Gunline + Armor
Painting
Medium*
Rules
Medium
Starter Cost
~$160–$230
*Infantry is detail-heavy. Tanks are fast and forgiving. A mixed list is the sweet spot for new painters.
Who are the Astra Militarum?
The Imperium of Man spans a million worlds. Defending it requires an army so large that the number is effectively meaningless — billions of soldiers, hundreds of thousands of tanks, artillery that can flatten cities from the horizon. That army is the Astra Militarum, and every soldier in it is completely, utterly ordinary.
No gene-seed. No power armor. No centuries of combat experience. A Guardsman is recruited from whatever world they're raised on, given basic training, issued a lasgun that fires bolts of focused light, and shipped to whatever warzone the Imperium needs filled with bodies. Their life expectancy in active combat is measured in days.
They know this. And they go anyway.
That's what makes the Astra Militarum compelling in a way no other faction quite matches. The Space Marines are superhuman. The Necrons are immortal machines. The Astra Militarum are people — afraid, mortal, outnumbered — and they hold the line because someone has to. The Imperium does not survive without them. Every other faction in this game is powerful. The Guard is brave.
They compensate for individual fragility with overwhelming collective firepower, armored vehicles, and artillery that can reach across entire battlefields. Leman Russ battle tanks. Chimera transports. Basilisk artillery pieces that lob shells twelve kilometers. When the Guard advances, it advances as a wall of steel and fire.
Choose your regiment
The Guard draws regiments from across the Imperium — each world produces soldiers shaped by their environment. Your regiment determines your colors and your army's special character.
Cadian Shock Troops
Olive Green & KhakiPainting: EasyThe default Guard regiment and GW's poster children. Cadians are disciplined, professional soldiers — the closest thing the Guard has to an elite core. Tan/khaki fatigues and green armor plates. Most tutorials are written for Cadian colors.
Catachan Jungle Fighters
Khaki & SkinPainting: EasyRaised on the most lethal death world in the Imperium — a planet where everything wants to kill you. Catachans are massive, bare-armed, and dressed for the jungle. Easy to paint: tan and skin tones with Agrax Earthshade does most of the work.
Valhallan Ice Warriors
Grey & WhitePainting: MediumStoic survivors of a frozen death world who lost their planet to Tyranids and kept fighting anyway. Cold grey and white winter camo. Stubborn defenders with high morale in rules.
Tallarn Desert Raiders
Sand & BrownPainting: EasyDesert warriors from a world rebuilt after an ancient war. Flowing robes, desert camo. Very fast cavalry-focused regiment. Sandy tones paint quickly with contrast paints.
Custom Regiment
Your choicePainting: VariesCreate your own homeworld, your own colors, your own backstory. The Guard supports custom regiments fully in the rules. Many players build their own with unique paint schemes.
How they play on the table
The Guard plays a combined arms gunline. Infantry squads hold objectives and put out volume fire. Tanks push forward or sit back and delete threats. Commanders issue Orders — special commands that make nearby units shoot twice, reroll hits, hold steady, or advance and fire. Every turn, your command structure is as important as your models.
The cardinal rule of Guard play:do not get into melee. A Guardsman in hand-to-hand combat with almost anything is a dead Guardsman. Your job is to keep distance, maximize firepower, and use tanks to threaten anything that gets close. The Guard wins by controlling the board with fire, not by fighting over ground.
There are two broad approaches.Infantry heavy armies flood the table with Guardsmen — cheap, expendable, surprisingly resilient in numbers.Armored Company lists go wall-to-wall tanks — three or four Leman Russ variants, a Baneblade superheavy, artillery. Both are completely valid, and most players land somewhere in between.
Guard are for you if...
- ✓ You want real tanks on the table
- ✓ The "ordinary humans vs. gods" story resonates
- ✓ You like commanding an army, not a warband
- ✓ You want overwhelming firepower and artillery
- ✓ You love historical military aesthetics
Maybe look elsewhere if...
- ✗ You don't want to assemble 40+ infantry models
- ✗ You want your individual models to be tough
- ✗ You want melee combat as a real option
- ✗ You want psychic powers or alien aesthetics
How to paint Astra Militarum
The honest word: infantry squads take time. There's no getting around the detail on a Guardsman. But contrast paints changed this significantly — here's the fastest method that still looks great.
We're painting Cadians. The approach transfers to any regiment — just swap the fatigue and armor colors.
Infantry (Cadian Shock Troops)
Spray Zandri Dust
A warm tan base coat that becomes the fatigues and clothing. The armor plates will be painted green on top of this.
Militarum Green Contrast on all armor plates
The jacket, trousers, straps, and pouches. One coat. The contrast paint shades itself into folds and creases.
Leave fatigues and clothing as Zandri Dust, wash with Agrax Earthshade
The shoulder pads, helmet, and chest armor stay the base tan color. One wash of Agrax over the whole model ties everything together and adds instant grime.
Leadbelcher on the lasgun
Metal on the barrel and body. Black on the stock. Quick and effective.
Kislev Flesh on skin, base the model
Face and hands. A thin layer of Kislev Flesh, maybe a light shade of Reikland Fleshshade. Then base with a sandy texture paint and a tuft.
Tanks (Leman Russ & vehicles)
Spray Zandri Dust, then heavy drybrush Ushabti Bone
Covers the hull. The drybrush over the spray creates a natural worn look before you've done anything else.
Agrax Earthshade wash over the whole vehicle
Flows into panel lines and rivets. Tanks have a lot of rivets. The wash does all the work of making them read as detail.
Leadbelcher on tracks, barrels, and metal trim
Drybrush along the track links and stipple it onto barrel tips and exhaust vents.
Ryza Rust on track edges, Nuln Oil on recesses
Optional but very effective. Drybrush Ryza Rust on the track edges for battle damage. Everything looks like it's been in a warzone without any skill required.
The real talk on infantry
Infantry squads take longer than Necrons or Orks. A 10-man squad done properly with contrast paints takes about 2–3 hours. That's fine — batch paint them in groups of 10, do one step across all 10 before moving on, and you'll have a squad done in a session. The tanks are the reward: one Leman Russ painted to a great standard in an hour is deeply satisfying.
What to buy first
Start with the Combat Patrol. It gives you infantry AND a vehicle — the right introduction to how the army actually works.
Combat Patrol: Astra Militarum
Includes 5 Cadian Command Squad soldiers (your officer and command unit), 10 Kasrkin (elite veteran infantry with hot-shot lasguns), and 10 Attilan Rough Riders (cavalry armed with hunting lances). A fast, elite force that punishes opponents who leave their flanks exposed.
See price on Amazon →Leman Russ Battle Tank
The iconic Guard tank. One kit builds multiple variants — Battle Cannon for general use, Demolisher Cannon for close-range destruction, Exterminator for anti-infantry. Adds serious firepower and is one of the most satisfying models to paint in the entire game.
Search Amazon →Paints you need (Cadian scheme)
~$38 for the full set. The same paints work across your entire army — infantry and vehicles both.
Honest cost breakdown
Combat Patrol: Astra Militarum
Cadian Command Squad, Kasrkin, Rough Riders
Essential paints (5)
Spray + contrast + wash + metal + flesh
Basing supplies
Sandy texture paint + tufts
Clippers + hobby knife
One-time purchase
Superglue
Multi-part infantry kits
All-in starter total
~$235The Leman Russ (~$65) is the natural next purchase and worth budgeting for early. A Guardsman army without a tank feels incomplete — and the tank is the most fun thing to paint.
For the Emperor. Hold the line.
Pick your regiment, grab the Combat Patrol, and paint your infantry in batches. Then reward yourself with a Leman Russ. The Guard is a slow build — and completely worth it.