Age of Sigmar is more popular than ever, with new players taking a look at the game every day, but for the wargames-curious among you the idea of picking up a paintbrush for the first time might be a little daunting. The great news is that there’s never been a better time to get into painting miniatures, thanks in large part to a recent proliferation of beginner-friendly paints and products like Games Workshop’s Contrast paints range, which is easy to work with and gives great results with just one coat.

Picking the right paints is only half the battle though – you still have to pick which army to start out with. There are lots of considerations that should factor into your decision, but if you’re a new hobbyist you’ll definitely want to be sure that the faction you choose isn’t going to be a source of frustration wen it comes to painting – some are definitely more challenging than others, whether that’s because they feature a lot of fine details or because they have a lot of different materials and textures.

To help you out, let’s take a look at the easiest Age of Sigmar armies to paint, and the best choices for beginner painters.

Stormcast Eternals

Stormcast Eternals are designed to be a great entry point into Age of Sigmar in all sorts of ways, from their fantastic all-rounder troop choices to their beginner-friendly play style. They’re also designed to be straightforward to paint, for the most part, with lots of simple armour panels and cloth that will look great using a limited number of colours and simple techniques, like washes and Contrast paints. Vindictors (one of the standard troop choices) can look good using just three or four colours followed by a wash of Agrax Earthshade or Nuln Oil.

However, while the Stormcast Eternals’ basic troops can be pretty straightforward, a few of the more elite units and heroes like Praetors and Ionus Cryptborn feature a bit more detail that could cause a headache for the beginner. There are plenty of less fussy hero miniatures in the range though, like the Knight-Relictor, and even the more detailed choices are still fairly beginner-friendly compared to other armies. The Spearhead: Stormcast Eternals box will give you a solid starter force.

Moggotkin of Nurgle

At first glance, the Maggotkin of Nurgle range may not seem like an obvious choice for someone painting an army for the first time – even the standard troop choices like Plaguebearers and Putrid Blightkings have quite a lot of disgusting details that may seem daunting. The great thing about Nurgle miniatures though, and something that you can’t necessarily tell from the studio paint scheme on the box, is that they look good messy! Or at the very least they’re very forgiving if your painting isn’t particularly precise.

With the right selection of necrotic colours like Plaguebearer Flesh, Reikland Fleshshade and Druchii Violet applied over a Wraithbone spray basecoat you can practically slap the paint on any old fashion and your rotten minions will still look pretty much right. Got a bit of paint on the wrong area? I guess the guy’s rotten spleen just exploded and spattered his armour with pus! Hooray! The Vanguard: Maggotkin of Nurgle box set will give you lots of opportunities to throw some paint around and have a great time doing it.

Ogor Mawtribes

One of the more challenging things for the beginner painter to get used to is painting small details, so how about an army were almost everything is bigger by default? Say hello to the Ogor Mawtribes. Ogors are significantly larger than humans, so you’ll have a bigger canvas to work with, whether you’re painting standard troops like Gluttons or heroes like the Tyrant.

Ogors also tend to have a lot of bare skin, so if you choose one of the fleshy Contrast paints like Guilliman Flesh, Fyreslayer Flesh or Darkoath Flesh then you’ll be half way to a job well done. There will still be lots of other bits to paint of course – cloth, metal, leather and so on – but with a small selection of the right paints these shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge on such large models. Why not have a go at the fantastic ogors in the Vanguard: Ogor Mawtribes box set?

Nighthaunt

Ghosts! With the power of Contrast paints, Nighthaunt are pretty much a one-paint army, if you want them to be – just prime them with a can of Grey Seer, then apply a ghostly Contrast colour like Hexwraith Flame or Nighthaunt Gloom and you’re done. Yes, you could paint the metal areas if you want to, or use other Contrast and shade paints to vary the colours a bit, but that’s all optional.

There are a handful of Nighthaunt miniatures with features that might benefit from being painted to look like solid objects, like the Scriptor Mortis’ big book or Awlrach the Drowner’s boat, but that’s a matter of personal taste. There’s no reason that these objects shouldn’t look as spectral as the wailing revenants they belong to. Honestly, there’s no Age of Sigmar army that’s more welcoming to the beginner painter than Nighthaunt, and the Vanguard: Nighthaunt box set is a great value place to start.

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