The Top 10 Units in Warhammer 40k

40k Is chock full of amazing units, most of which you see routinely if you attend tournaments. Perhaps you are not a tournament goer but your buddies have one or two units they routinely torture you with in the garage or on wargame night at your local FLGS.  Regardless, chances are you've seen some of them on this list before.

When I set about to rank the Top 10 units in 40k I looked at several factors. First, what makes this unit so great? Does it have a kickass statline? Does it make a certain build type work? Second, how difficult is it to kill or remove from play? Durability is a big factor in 40k. Third, damage output ratio. How much damage can this unit inflict on an army.  Finally, these units are in essence stand alone and do not necessarily require help from other units or formations.  So, in order let's start it off.

10. Tau Riptide

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The Riptide has been a mainstay force in the world of Warhammer 40k since it's introduction in 6th edition.  Over time, it has grown to be even more deadly in 7th with the Riptide Wing Formation, which lets you take 3 of them with no tax. Chances are, if you've been to a big event, you've run into this Formation. The Riptide is a difficult unit to kill and while Graviton weapons can do a number on it, the risk is worth the reward.  Riptides can do a massive amount of damage to an enemy if left alone or ignored, especially in the Riptide Wing.

9. Chief Librarian Tigurius

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This guy is the best Imperial Psyker in the game. He can virtually pick his powers, having the ability to re-roll when generating Psychic Powers, which, by the way he can choose from any tree in the Rulebook as well as the additional powers in Angels of Death.  In addition, his relic allows him to re-roll failed Psychic Tests. Tigurius is often fielded in a Librarius Conclave Formation with 3 other Librarians, often on bikes as part of some death star build.  He can't take a bike, but is usually able to keep up with his fellow psykers. He is important in the Conclave as he can cast 3 powers manifesting charges on a 2+ with re-rolls. Hard to argue against his utility.

8. Imperial Knight Crusader/Renegade Knight

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Imperial Knights are consistently seen in competitive 40k events. If you are planning on attending an event you WILL run into one without a doubt.  You have to have an answer for them or they will run wild all over you. Of the Imperial Knights (and their Renegade counterparts) the Crusader style build is the most deadly. Sure they lose the D weapon in close combat, but they are still Strength 10 and can stomp. The ability to fire multiple ranged weapons all at different targets makes this unit deadly on the battle field. Especially considering that all of their major weaponry is AP3 or lower. 

7. Celestine, The Living Saint

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Celestine, who is a new addition the game from the Fall of Cadia book, is quite simply amazing. She comes with 2 bodyguards who can attach along with her in other units. She has a high wound value and at the start of each turn she can raise one of her bodyguards that died. While she hasn't had time to demonstrate her power on the table yet, expect to see her in many death star builds in the future. She is quite simply amazing. 

6. Pink Horrors of Tzeentch

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Horrors have always been good because of their cheap warp charge and previously their ability to summon in more units. While they lost their ability to summon in Wrath of Magnus, they gained the ability to split off up to 3 times into Blue and Brimstone Horrors! The amount of board control they can throw down is insane.  Not to mention, each unit of Blue and Brimstone Horrors are also psykers.  Expect to see these guys A LOT in all Daemon competitive builds once GW releases Blue and Brimstone Horror kits beyond just the Silver Tower boxed game.

5. Warp Spiders

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Everyone hates these guys, and with good reason. Their Flickerjump ability makes them very difficult to shoot at. They come with Hit and Run meaning you need to kill them outright or they will just hop away. They are virtually fearless with their Exarch. They are the fastest moving infantry unit in the game being able to move 2d6+6 in the movement phase, up to another 6 in Shooting, and 2d6 further in assault. They lay down painful firepower as well, capable of dropping a Wraithknight. They are often seen spammed heavily in Aspect Hosts allowing them to hit on 2s. An absolutely brutal unit for the price point and an auto-take for any Eldar army.

4. Inquisitor Coteaz

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Coteaz is another commonly seen unit in competitive 40k. His ability to make the opponent re-roll a successful Seize the Initiative or allow you to re-roll is pretty amazing. On top of that he's also a Psyker. On top of that, per the new Imperial Agents release, Coteaz can make all non-vehicle models Objective Secured! Combined with the new Imperial take-all Detachment from Fall of Cadia, expect to see Coteaz even more than before.

3. Magnus the Red

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Magnus is an absolute beast, as he should be considering he is a Primarch. He can fly, has the ability to cast up to 5 powers a turn, never suffers from Perils and can manfiest on a 2+. Also, consider he is a Daemon of Tzeentch and also has Veterans of the Long War, when he's in a Thousand Sons detachment, Magnus becomes practically unkillable when he gets in the air. At Toughness 7 not much can wound him and when you do he will often have a 2++ or 3++ re-rolling 1s.  On top of that he's got 2 different ranged D weapons he can use in the psychic phase, the ability to summon Torrent AP3 Chariots, and various other witchfires. He knows a whopping 15 powers! His price point is high, but considering he is capable of wiping out half an army by himself it's hardly that high of a point investment.

2. Eldar Windriders

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The best Objective Secured troops choice in the game, chances are you've seen these multiple times at events all loaded down with Scatterlasers. They have incredible movement, the durability of a Space Marine, and fly around the table stealing objectives.  They are a pain to deal with especially when spammed and can lay down some devastating firepower.

And finally, the moment you've been waiting for. The number 1 best unit in all of Warhammer 40k is...

1. Kairos Fateweaver

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That's right, the big daddy of all Tzeentch Daemons, Kairos Fateweaver is one of those units that makes you want to pull your hair out to see across the board from you.  He knows an insane amount of psychic powers, including often a D shot.  He can summon units in. He can re-roll a single dice per turn on anything pretty much. He is the ultimate dice mitigator in 40k. He has been the center of many Daemon builds for years now, and quite often is seen finishing first. Lists are built around using this guy. He is difficult to kill and the utility he brings to an army is crazy good.   

So, those are my thoughts on the top 10 best units in Warhammer 40,000. What do you think? Agree? Think I have left off some that deserve the nod over others? I'd be interested in hearing your take.