Our Top Ten Warhammer 40k Rulebook Covers - Codex Compliant

[@nikkicoyotie8431]

*hesitently licks video...?"

[@margaretwood152]

▶4:44 It sure does (say something): it says that GW are so Trusting in their contemporary Codex/Concept Artists, that not will they choose to use Codex Art from 1990's ƒor 2024 Codices, but that they won't 💔_*Credit*_ their own 🎨Artists🖌 _altogether. *Ever*.....in perpetuity._ ▶17:04 I mean: have you _seen_ some (not all, but some) of the New Art & Book covers (?) e.g. 4E Stormcast Battletome & new Inquisitor & Imperial Agents book covers + ) It's downright embarrassing when you compare it to Art that's 20+ years old which positively *_Blows_*_ it out of the _*_Water._*

[@zombielizard218]

Codex Eye of Terror is so cool and unique; it's the only codex cover that has ever really gotten abstract, with Abaddon's power claw curling around Cadia as his armies march out from the flame beneath him it's so fuckin' metal

[@TheGrackler]

Agreed, that would be in my top 3 for sure!

[@ScooterinAB]

That Marine dipping in his coffee/tea is amazing and I will not be told otherwise.

[@apocrypha5363]

Honestly... It kinda fits the Rogue Trader vibe for a Marine to be doing something that mundane. In RT, Marines weren't "Flawless Paragons of Warrior-Monk Knighthood," they were brutally warped child soldier narcs... There's an art-piece in RT of a Marine arresting a guy for graffiti! 😂

[@daviddalby6217]

2nd Ed. Eldar! All the blue & yellow! Weird wave serpents! Sheer beauty!

[@converseroo101]

My dad made me a Eldar lunchbox when I was little with that artwork from the cover of a white dwarf - so it will always be one of my favourites

[@anonarchist1936]

came here to post this. Probably helped that my first forray into 40k was a 2nd ed Eldar army

[@Grinchpryde]

I'm with you. That cover was the reason to start an Eldar army. My brother had this codex and I started to collect an Eldar army with the third Eldar codex later.

[@jamesbrunton9507]

Same here too, bought a print in a Warhammer store on a whim and it's now up on our office wall and makes me very happy.

[@AndrewMcColl]

2e Eldar was great, but it was 2e Space Wolves for me. What a fun era for cover art.

[@little_isalina]

The 3rd edition Tyranid codex cover deserves some recognition. Not only does it depict the faction in a color scheme that had never been the official branding, but also the creature making up the centerpiece was completely unidentifiable as any model available at that time. While it checks all the vibes for the new tyranid design, reading a little bit like the just gone out of print hive tyrant translated to the new look, It isnt really any specific model you could point to for certain.

[@clonetf141]

Looks like an oversized warrior to me tbh

[@ExternalDialogue]

That art absolutely goes hard as hell! Every part of the art, even the sun in the background just looks bleak and horrid.

[@goreshadetube]

Once you learn Debbie Harry was Blanche’s inspiration for that Sister of Battle you can’t unsee it.

[@chudrustler]

Love it and i love her 🤷

[@cornersofchaos4176]

The Eye of Terror Codex- Abbadon crushing the planet of Cadia, the swirl of the Eye, the flames (and the CSMs in those flames)- so evocative and one of my favorites!

[@atanaspetkov580]

Out of all 9th ed covers, the Guard one is my favorite. I just love how unhinged the guardsmen look. It helps sell the idea that even the normal humans of the setting are alien to us. It also helps show the bleakness of the Imperium because every guardsman looks tired and maimed.

[@josephyoung2593]

I spent my first couple of years in the hobby making nuisance of myself in a gaming club full of guys in their thirties who graciously put up with questions from an ankle-biting tween. The first time anyone actually seemed to value my presence was when I saw Hough's drawing of the RT-era apothecary retrieving the gene-seed. The owner of the book called him the "gingernut marine," for reasons alluded to in the video, and I pointed out that didn't make any sense because he still had his helmet on and couldn't possibly be about to eat a biscuit. Everybody laughed, and thirty years later I'm still part of the community.

[@owenthomas5103]

The imperial guard one of them in the trench. Obviously they have huge advantages as a relatable subject but seeing them having a horable time even in their own codex cover set the tone well

[@tigeriussvarne177]

The 2nd and 3rd Ed. covers will allways have the biggest space in my heard.

[@starslayer2438]

I did appreciate the little detective story of tracking down the artist of that one cover. Possibly due to nostalgia, the 2nd edition Eldar cover is still one of my favourites. It was my very first codex for my very first army. But I also like the 5th edition covers for Dark Elder and Grey Knights a lot.

[@Kroeghe]

You two nerds have been my favourite Warhammer channel ever since I got into playing with small plastic mans. Thank you!

[@SnipeandWib]

❤

[@anotherzingbo]

That Warhammer 40,000 Compendium cover with the Ultramarines charging out of the page, is a favourite of mine, possibly lodged in my mind from the olden days of Rogue Trader even more firmly than the rulebook's cover.

[@SnipeandWib]

It *nearly* made the list, I won't lie. It's a real fun piece.

[@thomassaxon8254]

The 7th Ed Harlequin cover will always be peak for the murder clowns for me. Same with the 3rd Ed Tyranid cover. They both just hit everything about that faction.

[@GheyForGames]

I genuinely cannot understand why GW stopped crediting artists, what is there to gain from that? Good choices, but I AM surprised to not have seen the 3rd edition eldar codex

[@sofija1996]

I assume it's about tying the art strictly to the company brand rather than to individual contributors - same reason they've homogenised the artstyle over past few editions, ending in the rugged, paint-slap one we have now. They're probably also relying more on freelancers, contractors or temporary hires than a permanent in-house art team now and not crediting the artists + using a unified "brand style" helps cover up what may be a revolving door of one-time contributors.

[@calzoni_325]

It’s worth pointing out that games workshop stopped crediting people at a very similar time to matt ward receiving horrendous treatment from the warhammer community, there’s a strong possibility that they’re linked. Not crediting is undeniably bad practice but there’s an argument to be made that it’s a necessary evil to protect from the wrath of an all too often shitty fanbase

[@Yurt_enthusiast7]

GW don't credit their artists to keep them from gaining notoriety and therefore don't need to pay them as much.

[@ExValeFor]

@@calzoni_325 I've heard the contrary, that the policy was introduced to stop certain artists and authors gaining a cult following. It's not all toxic fandoms.

[@Prophaniti666]

Aside from some of the picks in this list, the 9th edition Adeptus Mechanicus cover art is absolutely one of my favourites. It's so perfectly 40k, and really captures the monstrous insanity and religious fervour of the Ad Mech.

[@knuckl6972]

The 3.5 edition chaos codex has one of my favourite covers. Just two guys with boltguns, but they're covered in spikes, furs, and severed heads. They have a look thats unique to that era of chaos marine designs, where they were leaning away from the biomechanical look of rouge trader but they hadnt arrived at the jagged lines and excessive trim of the modern sculpts. Also, the whole thing is very pleasingly orange.

[@kimarous]

Updated the Paul Dainton artist credit to Lexicanum. Thanks.

[@SnipeandWib]

Ah! Excellent, thank you!

[@krisisk1]

@@SnipeandWib I saw some interviews of old timers from GW, and apparently the removal of credits was due to thinking of protecting their staff after the Matt Ward attacks blew up, to prevent that happening to others working there. Though today it seems it might be bit more corporate reasons for it.

[@knightarms7310]

9th Edition Chaos Space Marine Codex is what I love about the faction. Dark and absolutely horrific characters who don't abide by rules of order and aren't afraid to be different from character to character. They are also peak-heavy metal to death metal aesthetics.

[@Philip271828]

That's far too Metal for 40K, it should be a Fantasy cover.

[@matthewrappold1459]

I second this, I can just hear the death metal in the background!

[@ExternalDialogue]

The World Eaters one is also insanely good, i absolutely adore the mutant creature with a giant fucking axe head embedded inside his head sideways seemingly screaming their lungs out. Lewis Jones perfectly captures what chaos is all about!

[@MoxAmber26]

One of my favorite bits of art is the Third edition Tyranid art. something about it just really gets the horror of them across with the red sky and smoke stacks. Another one I like is the Angels of death art from second ed. I am an absolute sucker for the big bright contrast of that era's art, the big bold colors just are perfect to me. Third Edition Necron and Tau. god this game has some really great art

[@Therealblacktux]

the fact that 9th ed CSM codex wasn’t mentioned is CRIMINAL!! the striking red and black is GORGEOUS in person

[@doctoradventure413]

9th edition really had some fantastic art admech, csm, world eaters, etc. Some absolute bangers!

[@ExternalDialogue]

If i were to make this list more than half of the entries would just be the 9th edition Lewis Jones works, he's just that good. Genuinly one of the most awesome hobby news that kinda flew under the radar a while ago was that he recently got reassigned to the miniature concept art division, meaning we get to see minis that go as hard as his artwork at some point.

[@KiltCladViking]

subjective? I thought this would be an objective codex cover review xD

[@user-qg4st8ih1d]

I’m genuinely thrilled that someone other than me remembered Virus exists EDIT: also props for the bit at the end about crediting artists, GWs behaviour on that front has been pretty shocking imo, and should absolutely be called out

[@SnipeandWib]

Us rememberers of the movie Virus need to stick together, there's fewer and fewer of us every year!

[@stujm84]

Although we would rather forget that it did. Almost certainly a rent-payer for all involved....

[@user-qg4st8ih1d]

@@stujm84 I vaguely remember one of the leads saying pretty much that exact thing. Still, I’ll always be partial to the creature(?) designs, cyborg-related body horror films are in short supply so I’ll take what I can get.

[@nakenmil]

I hadn't actually realized until now how utterly underwhelming the Codex covers from 6th-8th edition were. SNORE. Makes me appreciate the current covers a lot more, even if I think they sometimes feel a bit sanitized and lacking the textural GRIT and grunginess that older covers had. (I agree though, the Chaos Blood Gorgon cover is an exception, it goes fantastically hard)

[@ExternalDialogue]

Most of the 9th edition ones by Lewis Jones are incredible imo, they feel like a perfect mix of a lot of the extremelly grim and dark look of 3rd edition art with the sheer volume of weird little guys that the 2nd ed codexes offered. Lewis Jones just perfectly captures the whole setting for me in a way only a select few 40k artists are able to.

[@siremilcrane]

9th edition was such a banger for codex art, 9th edition CSM is beautiful and even though I only got to use it for five minutes I really like the 9th ed IG codex as well

[@hanng1242]

I definitely agree with your 5th ed Space Wolves and Rogue Trader rulebook picks. I think that 2nd ed Eldar should have made the list. 3rd ed Eldar is pretty good too; as is the 4th ed on - I guess I just like Eldar. I like the 2nd ed Angels of Death codex as well as the 3rd edition Dark Angels codex. Speaking of Blood angels and Dark Angels, I like the 2nd ed 40k box art as well as the box art for the Dark Millenium expansion. For #10, I would go with 5th ed Codex Imperial Guard.

[@WeOnlyEatSoup]

Honestly tough call, but the Catachan cover from like 2nd or 3rd has gotta be my fav, recall seeing that image as a child and not understanding wtf i was looking at

[@rakelodakel]

Adrian Smith's Engra Deathsword on the cover of the Hordes of Chaos Fantasy Army book lives in my head as the quintessential Warhammer artwork. So many spikes.

[@danesorensen1775]

That guardsman is clearly saying, "WTF? Dude, put the easel down and start shooting!"

[@johnsowerby7182]

The Limited Edition Sororitas cover is just stunning. Very different to how most GW stuff looks.

[@tbird1053]

I started at the beginning of third. A time you could find lots of second ed stuff cheaply. The second ed Eldar codex fired my preteen imagination. That codex as a whole is probably what has made me a space elf stan to this day.

[@James80312]

The cover to the 1988 edition of Warhammer Siege is unreal in the level of detail it has. The cover was done by Ian Miller and all of his work is really amazing. The 2nd edition eldar codex is also up there for me

[@johnfarscape]

100% 2nd ed codex orks for me, it was perfect for capturing the feel of the army at the time.

[@tylerblevins4083]

The Codex Witch Hunters cover was burned into my brain at a random thrift store many years ago. The collector's edition of 8th ed Dark Eldar is a favorite too.

[@leaguesmanoframsgate]

There's a real dearth of dramatic Tau covers. Sure, the 3rd edition cover by Andy Smith is iconic, but it's kind of... samey? I think it's why my favourite cover featuring my favourite faction is the one from 7th Edition's Planetary Onslaught. Vivid red Crisis suits crashing out of the sky, guns blazing, literally landing on some Space Marines? That's such a cool cover for me.

[@ExternalDialogue]

Huh yeah, just looking up all the Tau Codex covers, its like, kinda remarkably... meh? 3rd and 4th ed had kinda interesting ones but after that its all just one battlesuit commander just centre frame not doing anything interesting.

[@ExValeFor]

@@ExternalDialogue That's the issue with Tau being a ranged faction. Can't have GW's classic pitched battle cover scenery if being in a pitched melee battle means the Tau are probably shit out of luck. I'm a Tau player myself and it's just kind of sad realizing they don't fit GW's definition of 'cool'

[@jamesgreen9480]

I like the genestealer cult one before this edition, very dark

[@norkimo8797]

3:03 I always enjoy the "oh shit oh fuck"-guys in warhammer art

[@Jamesotronart]

I think my top three are 2nd edition Sisters Of Battel, Codex Angels Of Death, and 2nd Edition Chaos with Abaddon in front of a fire tornado. Very metal. Also as an artist myself, thank you for bringing up GW's lack of crediting artists, without these creators we wouldn't have such amazing depictions of ghis universe.

[@HerrBud]

The Catachan codex (3rd edition) exudes too much manliness to make this list

[@margaretwood152]

▶4:44 It sure does (say something): it says that GW are so Trusting in their contemporary Codex/Concept Artists, that not will they choose to use Codex Art from 1990's ƒor 2024 Codices, but that they won't 💔_*Credit*_ their own 🎨Artists🖌 _altogether. *Ever*.....in perpetuity._ That says a lot about where -Games Workshop- *_Warhammer Inc.'s_* priorities lay.

[@Lazorz210]

It's a more recent one, but the 9th edition Mechanicus cover by Lewis Jones became an immediate favourite of mine. I actually like the fuzzy-around-the-edges style for a setting like this, while I think it captures the greeblie detail in the foreground where it counts. And it has a lovely dark scheme that's mostly cool blue-greys so the red robes of Mars pop really nicely. Given this video, it's also a good modern cover for funny little guys imho :)

[@galefs_minis_n_sabers]

"Something should at least be a little bit on fire" had my rolling!

[@stillunsure7630]

Damn the nostalgia in this video is overwhelmingly fun. Can't help but want the old edition Codex collections again.

[@queen-val6135]

Definitely the cover used for the tau codex in 4th/5th edition, just this perfect composition of defending a noble bastion with highly advanced weapons and machinery, with a frankly great variety of units on display, not a lot of codex covers are more than a close up of a guy. Certainly far more iconic that the one they used for three tau codexes in a row from 6th to 8th, except they changed the colours a bit

[@apocrypha5363]

3:04 Rowlett fighting Groudon 😂

[@nakenmil]

I'm a sucker for 3rd edition, I admit, so there's quite a few from there: - Codex Space Marines 3rd Edition, by David Gallagher. The artstyle is more cartoony than I usually prefer, but not only does it echo the original Rogue Trader book cover, but there is something about the explosive concentration of Crimson Fists that looks so fucking energetic, for lack of a better word. - Imperial Guard 3rd Edition, 2nd Codex. Anything Karl kopinski does usually gets a thumbs up from me, but when it's Kopinski AND ordinary grunts, it goes even harder. Fucking hell, the guy knows how to draw Imperial Guards and Empire State Troops SO. FUCKING. WELL. - Codex Witch Hunters 3rd Edition, by Paul Dainton. This one is my personal favorite above that of the Daemonhunters. I think it's because it's EVEN MORE sinister and cruel. This was one I saw in the stores and it just drove it home to me that these were not the good guys... and yet, they were fucking rad as hell. That sort of chilling tingle going down your spine as you get to play pretend being a goddamn maniac and you realize how good it feels. - Tau, 3rd Edition, by adrian Smith: I like Tau, and back then it was exciting to see what they brought to the setting. After all these years, I still think the Tau Fire Warriors are functionally, aesthetically basically perfect designs. No notes. Also, there is something about that bright, blue sky that contrasts so well against the sandy orange Tau armor. - Necrons, 3rd Edition, Karl Kopinski: I'm a true Oldcron enjoyer. I preferred when they were so mysterious and unknown they didn't even have any real special characters. Necron Warriors fucking slap. That dark sky and green haze everywhere is peak atmosphere. - Codex: Cityfight, 3rd edition, Karl Kopinski: see above, same reasoning for his Imp Guard cover. Added bonus with these boys not being Cadians, but vaguely hearkening back to the overall-dressed Rogue Trader imperial army dudes. Some others as well: 2nd Edition Angels of Death (seriously, why aren't Blood Angel chaplain models as cool as that dude?!), 2nd Edition Space Wolves (that furry head sticking out of a stonking Terminator armor is so incongrunet it loops around to being awesome, and there is something about the gigantic structure in the background that just makes me so fascinated with the while scenario.) 2nd Edition Eldar (taste the rainbow, motherfucker. Always colorful, never apologizing. Eldar models and paint schemes are cool as hell.) 4th Edition Space Marines (I'm not sure if Marneus Calgar as ever looked this good. Look at all that fucking gold filigree!) 4th Edition Catachans: hell yeah! Rambos (plural) in space! Losing their shit! 5th Edition Dark Eldar: That Archon looks SO good. It's a crime they discontinued that model and replaced it with whatever the fuck the current model is meant to achieve.

[@mikewicked.x]

This is the second 40k cover art inspired video I've seen today - Tabletop Time made a diorama based on the 2E Eldar cover. Highly recommend checking it out.

[@dantheultimate2497]

The 9th Edition Genestealer Cults codex cover is the best modern codex cover imo.

[@tremolo_painter]

I love these episodes! They evoke a nostalgia, even though I was not into 40K until much later editions.

[@gerardsandee1520]

My top-three of covers (in no particular order): - WH40K-Rogue Trader. This was my introduction to WH40K back in the 80's, and indeed conveys the idea of the background being quite quite nasty. - Eye of Terror. A great depiction of the greater picture: Abaddon having Cadia in his grasp. Hell Awaits. - 2nd edition Eldar. Bright, vibrant, colourful. Also, the cover paints a (deceptively) optimistic view of a dying species hanging on. And I'd like to join you in thanking all the artists. Not only those who made the covers, but the whole lot of 'em. Cheers!

[@CWright-o6y]

I'm a big fan of 6th ed. Eldar's crackly Warlock, 9th ed. AdMech's Intensely Warty Thou Vibes and preposterous giant cyber-weirdo, and, yes, 2nd ed. Eldar, featuring All Of The Colours. Also 7th ed. Skitarii, but I'm willing to countenance the argument that that's due to my biases as a shameless cog-slut rather than an impartial assessment of artistic merit. 'Ere We Go calls to me too, but that's definitely more nostalgia for my old plastic ladz than anything else. And a final honourable mention to the Battle Manual, though I'm not sure why everything is so yellow.

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

1:47 - biscuit? It’s always been dunking a teabag to me. 😉

[@Lazysupermutant]

I always thought he was cracking open a cold one. Which is apt for Rogue Trader era space Marines.

[@ScooterinAB]

It kinda looks like he's pouring a sugar packet or shelf creamer into his morning coffee.

[@vdate]

'Opening a beer' had always been my read on it as well.

[@dairoka6359]

Great list! I didn't play between 3rd and 9th editions so it was good to see some covers I'm unfamiliar with. I do have one complaint, though. On the "countdown/number" card between entries, the "biscuit" picture zoomed into the center of the picture. I believe that to capture the full biscuit experience, the zoom should have been onto the aforementioned biscuit. Aside from that minor faux pas, thank you for taking the time to highlight the service and culinary acumen of Apothecary Proinsias "Whiskey" McBiscuit, known as "Whiskey Biscuit" or "Doc Biscuit" to his Battle Brothers, may Songs of his Deeds and Biscuits be forever sung by Cherub Servitors across the Imperium!

[@beardwierd2783]

The space wolves art is the daddy. Love your work guys.

[@pnutz_2]

One of mine would be IG 5th edition, seen at 12:56. While it's obviously taking some cues from the movie posters for Starship Troopers, it does define the guard for me as dumping huge masses of regular joes, jos and janes at whatever problem the imperium faces today to lasgun and shell them into oblivion

[@101Phase]

9th edition admech codex would be my number 1, that huge tech priest just screams 40k

[@curioushybrid]

Doing a little detective work... The unknown Sisters piece is also used in the Wrath & Glory core rulebook (p142) but annoyingly still not credited. It's also used in one of the supplement books, and comparing the list of art credits in that to the core book, the names in common are Stefan "StoryKillinger" Ristik, Sam Manley and JG O'Donoghue. If I had to guess, I'd say StoryKillinger, but I haven't been able to pin it down definitively yet (even though the guy posts tons of 40K art online).

[@curioushybrid]

Update: Sam Manley confirmed on BSky that it's neither him nor JG O'Donoghue, so that leaves StoryKillinger as the only credit link... Still not definitive though.

[@roobs2976]

WE'RE SO BAAAAACK!!! i love when you guys upload! its the highlight of my week when you guys do!

[@laurenbastin8849]

that limited edition 8th Ed Sisters codex is gorgeous! My favourite 40K cover now because of just how unorthodox it is

[@Hobbyrepubliken]

I really like the 10th(?) Genestealer Cult one

[@andrewlivingston630]

9th probably? The 10th one is quite a generic guy standing, the 9th one is the horrifying and kinda off model collection of miscreants.

[@DDCCP1999]

The art used for a couple of the Genestealer Cults 9th edition codex is good. It’s got a very baroque feel to it. It also represents the teeming mass of the army seeming to pop out of nowhere very well. The colors are also very nice.

[@ThomasMurch]

When I got home from work just now, I was fully expecting to watch the latest video from my favourite Let's Play-er, Welonz ... guess that'll just have to wait 20 minutes now. 3:53 - ...That Gargant reminded me of Clank from the Ratchet and Clank games, so yes, his Little Guy application has been APPROVED.

[@DJRockford83]

I appreciated the Dark Omen soundtrack in the background. It was a great game, Shadow of the Horned Rat was also amazing

[@knightmarealphagaming8336]

the Sisters alt art has also already been reused in the Imperium Maledictum Core Rulebook. However here it might be even harder to find out who drew it, considering that it has 16 artists. But at least the cover is credited

[@awmperry]

2nd Ed had so many great covers. The three that always stick in my mind are the Sisters, the so-cheesy-it’s-great Assassins one, and the Angels of Death grimdark rock album of a cover.

[@converseroo101]

Just all the second edition books. Chaos and angels of death in particular. That special edition sisters of battle one is bloody lovely though

[@tomberry5528]

Theres some extremely funky anatomy on that Angels of Death cover - especially the giant noggin on that chaplain. It looked off to me even as a kid. The 2nd ed Guard codex has some pretty glaring anatomical issues too. They still have a lot of charm though.

[@mohussain4792]

Huh, I always thought the beakie was cracking open a can of beer. The more you know!

[@BlindedbyDaylight]

Great video, also some covers I had never seen before. You are docked a point for not including the first Eldar codex cover though. Naughty naughty ;)

[@troyimlach1453]

5th Edition Space Wolves is my favorite piece of cover art. And the cover of Rouge Trader is my number 2.

[@KapnScumdreg]

Was very happy when I turned to the back of the new (10th ed) orks codex, to find the 2nd edition cover!

[@RedDragon052]

My favorite 2 that stand out in my mind are the 3rd edition Imperial Guard (the first version) and Chaos space Marines. The guard image really hit for a kid who was really into ww1 history, and the Chaos marine face staring out of the cover is very striking, and unique among codex covers. I can't think of any other like it.

[@liamrogerson5971]

It may sound soppy but I love seeing you’ve made new videos. Your channel is brilliant and even if I have subscribe several thousand times, I’ll keep it going

[@willroberts4993]

9th/10th CSM codex. It’s my new all-timer. SO cool.

[@Delveintohobby]

9th edition has a bunch of incredible codex covers, Chaos marines, AdMech, Eldar etc. I also have a real love for the 8th Ed. Core Book, dark, simple and stylish.

[@VAB0L0]

5th (Paul Dainton) and 7th/8th (Raymond Swanland) edition Dark Eldar are some of my all-time favourite codex covers, I just love the way they portray the pointy bastards!

[@josephwiley5880]

I don't know if its my absolute favorite but the 9th edition Adeptus Mechanicus codex cover done by Lewis Jones is incredible!

[@ii2bcnii]

New video from you two always makes my day 😊 you two rock!

[@WoobooRidesAgain]

Speaking on the Space Wolves cover art, I think presenting it in the way you did is also a very useful illustration (no pun intended) as to why properly crediting artists is important, as it shows just how easily an artist's contributions can be lost if proper credit isn't given. It took a lot of diving into niche areas of the internet and digging up an old example of a borderline dead medium to figure out who actually made an iconic piece of 40k artwork.

[@davidmalkin4241]

Always loved the art for 40k, thank you

[@johnfarscape]

I bought the ork and eldar paint set, just because of the box art.

[@mikelueck1103]

I know it’s not from a codex, but my favourite piece of cover art is from the box art of the 1991 plastic Imperial Guardsmen. Really conveys the feeling of masses of basic human troopers.

[@MrOalmer]

You got the most important one in, 10/10 no notes. It's the 2nd edition Ork codex of course.

[@wymarc10]

My two favorites (you can't make me pick one!) are the unique Eye of Terror cover and the wonderfully dark Witch Hunters cover.

[@luisbermudez4756]

If I was making this list, it would be hard not to make it all the covers of the 2nd edition codex books and rule books, but there is only one cover art that has always been my favorite - and I don’t see this changing any time soon - and that would be the 2nd edition Eldar Codex cover. Brilliant cover, beautiful colors, and it’s inspired many people to recreate the Dire Avenger Exarch on the cover as a miniature, including those guys at Table Top Time who just posted a video of it today!

[@ExternalDialogue]

I think if i had to pick a favourite (well, second favourite now, you made a very good case for the original RT one) it'd be the 9th edition Adeptus Mechanicus one. The use of colour is just gorgeous the cold and dark teal tones contrast against the magnificent red robes of the warriors of mars. Every strange character shown on the book is just immediately captures my imagination as these creepy and ominous figures performing ancient unknowable rites. The huge central tech priest is just a spectacular design, i love how they have three sets of arms, their original atrophied flesh arms locked in a praying pose mid battle, as well as second set of mechanical arms dedicated also to prayer whilst the third set of arms are actually wielding an Omissian axe. The other side on the right is also just a litteral dark mass of augmented horrors only given shape by spindly silhouettes contrasted against the cold haze in the far background and the lifeless glow of the eye lenses making up the horde. It is so perfectly encapsulates everything i adore about the Adeptus Mechanicus, its perfect and i could spend another six paragraphs just gushing about all the weird little details. It feels like such a perfect mix of classic "little guy" era 40k art with a more modern grim aesthetic. Its so damn good that its permanently buried itself in my mind where it constantly tempts me to commit to the terrible and life ruining financial decision of collecting an admech army, its that good!

[@Krane2000]

I think it’s the 4th or 5th Tyranids Codex that has the big swarm with the Carnifex looming over in the centre that really captured me back in the day. Still have it, even if I read it back to front so many times the old thing is falling apart.

[@ONIMOT100]

My favorite recent cover art is the 9th Edition Eldar codex cover I like it so much, it has gotten me to pick both of the Autarch kits (regular Autarch and Winged Autarch) so I could go and kitbash my own Autarch matching the one on the cover

[@jayradcliffe337]

My favourite piece of GW cover art, maybe art full stop, is the 9th ed Gsc cover. So thematic, so dark, so gorgeous

[@eatingpancakesrightnow2786]

The White Dwarf Compendium cover will always be my favorite since that was my introduction to Warhammer

[@edwinsmith-jones6205]

There was a large poster of the 1st edition 40k cover artwork on the wall of my local village library back in the day.

[@morayonkeys]

Got to be the 2nd Ed Eldar cover. Really captures the alien elegance of the Eldar way of war. Plus it's just so colourful!

[@robertmccann9631]

The comparison to British imperial paintings is crazy when you see it.

[@ProcrastinatingGameplay]

The guy with the half mask from the black templar art was also made into a character i believe castellan crowe and was a limited edition alternative BT captain before the other Blanche models by a few years

[@dredgenvarg7092]

Mark Gibbons was, and always will be my favourite artist that GW have ever used. His work back in the 90s was just phenomenal

[@aaronbasham6554]

My favorite 2 are the RT art for Imperial Army troopers marching to war and the 5th edition Imperial Guard cover, specifically for the guy with the knife at the bottom.

[@CtrlAltGiveUp]

The 4th edition Space Marine codex cover by Karl Kopinski has always stood out to me. There's so much fantastic art in that book.

[@amostyx]

I won't say that it was just the cover of 3rd edition Codex Necrons that got me into them, but it did help a lot.

[@Avenger85438]

Not sure if it counts but the wallpaper of General Sturnn from Winter Assault is something I really think captures the soul of the Guardsmen. A grizzled commander standing side by side with his men, their expressions set, undaunted by the cold and blinded snow as their tank gets into position in the background.

[@1337Mail]

A comment to appease the dark youtube gods my absolute favorite art is the 9th ed Chaos codex. Quite literally made me get back into 40k it was so good. Just so evocative and encapsulates the faction so so so so SO well.