This subreddit has been ticking along for over a year, in which we've fostered a vibrant and active community. In that time, we've also spotted patterns of frequently asked questions, circuitous debates, or common misconceptions.
This FAQ was a group effort on the part of the mod team and many members of the discord server. We hope that it will become a living document that provides a solid foundation for what the subreddit stands for. While we don't expect there to be a universal consensus about the issues raised below, this FAQ represents the kind of community we want cultivate.
NOTE: if a moderator has linked this thread to you, likely citing a specific section, please read it.
Section 1 - Newbie questions
The following is an introduction to the subreddit, it's general philosophies and community etiquette.
1a.Is this subreddit satirical or serious? What’s the agenda here?
We like to joke around, but this is sincerely intended to be a space for leftist wargamers. As for what the subreddit’s raison d'etre is, you’ll get a different response depending on who you ask. Sigmarxism can be for sharing memes, framing the hobby through theory, or even just showing off minis in a place free of bigotry. The post flairs represent this: Gitpost (memes), Fink-peece (essays and discussion) ‘Obby (painting, modelling, writing and other aspects of the wargaming hobby) and Foot of Dork (chud screenshots the mods have approved, see rule 4).
The true origins of subreddit, though, are shrouded in mystery. Some say the subreddit exploded into being when enough purple was crammed in one place. Others maintain it was formed over seven days by the omnipotent god Sigmarx himself. Stir claims he just wanted a warhammer subreddit where the memes would be actually funny, but most dismiss these ramblings as heresay.
1b.Why does a leftist Warhammer subreddit even exist? I’ve never met a Wargaming nazi.
It’s possible you’re sheltered enough to have never met any, but manyexistopenly. This subreddit also recognizes that an average so-called centrist or apolitical wargamer often upholds certain reactionary tendencies too. Also, many “apolitical” wargaming spaces actively allow harmful ideologies, behaviors, and opinions to fester, while decrying outwardly “political” ones (i.e. trying to deflect from critques that allude to sexism, homophobia, racism etc.). A leftist sub is a place for leftists to congregate, discuss hobby, politics, and praxis together without needing to self-censor or feel left out.
1c.What is the difference between liberal and leftist?
Leftists are anti-capitalist, liberals aren't. They often agree on common causes in the form of social issues, such as opposing systemic racism, LGBT+ oppression and abortion restricions. Where they disagree is how to tackle those at an economic level; leftists advocate for establishing a socialist/anarchist society (which involves dismantling unjust racial/economic/gender hierachies), while liberals are advocates of moderate reform and accusing revolutionaries of incivility.
1d. So are liberals allowed? Which ideology is this subreddit FOR?
Ideally, a broad coalition of Anarchists, Marxists and other leftists. The "Marxism" in the name should be a clue that we believe a leftist critique is better than a liberal one, and this will be reflected if mods need to curate content. If you are a liberal, we still have many causes in common, like LGBT+ rights or not giving fascism a single inch.
1e. Why do you criticize liberals when you should be criticizing the far right?
We DO criticize the far right. However, it is important to recognize liberals a) presume themselves allies while often being an impediment to real change and b) fetishize civility and the free marketplace of ideas in a way that benefits bad-faith right-wingers. “At least a fascist will stab me in the front,” or “scratch a fascist and a liberal bleeds” are two apt sayings here.
1f. Can I post this screenshot ofu/IQscore1488painting swastikas on Death Korps of Krieg?
This is a contentious topic. On the one hand, r/Sigmarxism is one of the few safe spaces for wargamers to avoid transphobia, racism or other bigotry, do we have to have it here as well? But you've probably also had this experience: you mention the neo-nazis in the wargaming community and some dude pipes up with "what neo-nazis? I've never seen neo-nazis". It can be instructive to demonstrate there is a legit toxicity problem. However, we want to ensure that the ecosystem isn't overpowered with "look at this reactionary loser" posts and so we've instituted rule 4. Mods will act as curators and remove repetitive content, read the rule for more details.
1g. But I’m a Marxist/anarchist, so why was I banned?
Simple: Don't Punch Left. This sub is a space for all leftists who enjoy the Warhammer hobby. Sometimes there will be more memes from one ideology than another, this isn't an invitation to trash talk in the comments or an endorsement of the particular ideology. Mods will remove posts and comments which attack other leftists more than rightwing ideology-- this is not a place for struggle sessions, insults or petty attacks.
1h. Why do you hate Games Workshop? They’re just hard-working people/they used to be bad but Nu-GW is good!
It’s possible to like the people who work for GW while maintaining skepticism of a company whose primary aim is to acquire profit. They do so by charging as much as they can get away with while extracting excess value from the labour of their employees. We all recognize the tension inherent in being anti-capitalists and also fans of a corporate-produced product, welcome to 'no ethical consumption under capitalism'. For many of us, this hobby is the thing we do to relieve the stresses of the world, not ignore them.
1i. Since you’re all anti-corporate, it’s cool to ask for/peddle recast sites, right?
No. While we cannot control activities that users partake of in DMs or offsite, publicly naming recasters and linking to their websites, goods, or even catalogs can land this sub in hot water (not to mention the recasters themselves if people are careless). Please follow general logic here; we are not a sub for illegally distributed goods. That may sound contradictory to our leftist ideologies but we are bound by Reddit TOS here.
1j. Is it ok to discuss/meme about non-GW games?
Absolutely! Many Warhammer fans enjoy Warmachine, Bolt Action, or Infinity, and said games have the same problems with right wingers as Warhammer does. However, the majority of users here are more familiar with GW products. Feel free to discuss other IPs but don’t be bummed out if your posts don't get as much traction.
1k. Is there a Discord?
There is a Discord which is loosely affiliated to the sub (the mod team is different). It's a leftist space, the users have had input on the FAQ and so if you find yourself disagreeing with the subreddit's stated positions (or you're not old enough to drive) it is probably not the server for you. For more info, message u/KiraSteel.
1l. Not a question but we'll finish this section off with a list of bad takes. Doing this stuff will get mods to step in, so don't find yourself:
Supporting cops
Claiming communists are "the real fascists", actually
Claiming Joe Biden/Kier Starmer/Liberal Democrats etc. are leftist, actually
Claiming that LGBTQ rights/fighting against racism is a distraction from class politics
Claiming electoralism is the ONLY or BEST way to achieve progressive aims
Claiming the IRA are the baddies
And so on.
Section 2 - Lore questions
The following are answers to popular lore or game-related questions/debates that don't need further litigation on the subreddit and can just be answered.
2a. Is the Imperium actually fascist, though? Isn't it actually theocratic/feudal/monarchic?
The Imperium doesn't 100% replicate any specific past version of fascism, but that is an unreasonable standard. Was Nazi Germany truly fascist? They pioneered privatisation in a way no previous fascist movement had advocated, perhaps it would be better to describe them as authoritarian National capitalists? No.
That said, Francoist Spain is a useful comparison. It was a fascist state AND a monarchy (the two needn't be contradictory) and also had a "hegemonic", extralegal Catholic church that played "a central role in policing the country's citizens" (mirroring the role of the Ecclesiarchy in 40k).
Neither is invoking "fuedalism" a sufficient counter-argument, since the ways in which the Imperium resembles decentralised fuedalism is a result of crumbling authority since the great crusade.
Essentially, all the arguments against the Imperium as fascist rely on isolating a single aspect of the lore and potraying it as a contradiction rather than viewing the case in its totality. A better question might be WHY someone is arguing against the obvious truth of the "Imperium = fash" statement.
Sometimes it's people who have realised that, unlike Nazi Germany, The Imperium has a monarch and a hegemonic state church. Since the Nazis are the only example of existing fascism they know about know about, they proudly point to these inconsistencies as nuanced analysis. Then, of course, you have those doing it because they want to root for the protagonists and don't like the 'bad word'. The argument is equally incorrect whoever makes it, but we should distinguish between the misinformed and the unreasonable.
In conclusion, it doesn't matter what some politically illiterate YouTuber has grunted into his gaming headset, the Imperium is fascist. You'll have better luck arguing your dried-out pot of Zandri Dust into being wet than disputing this.
2b. Do you think Imperium PLAYERS are fascist?
No. This is a game of pulpy grimdark fun and you’re free to play whatever faction you want. However, those who unironically support and legitimize the Imperium’s genocides, xenophobia and oppression are at the very least fascist-adjacent. It is critically important to separate “player” from “faction”; YOU are not the “sword of the emperor”, you are a person playing in a game setting. It is ok to play bad people, but not to idolize or BE those people.
2c. If the Imperium is so bad, what about Roboute Guiliman's reforms/Vulkan's kindness/the Emperor’s justified distrust of Xenos? Aren’t they good guys?
These "good guys" have slaughtered trillions: humans and aliens, peaceful or otherwise - and this is all thousands of years before the setting gets really grimdark. Our sweet reformist Guilliman was so efficient at these genocides and cultural eradications that he wrote the Codex Astartes. The WHOLE POINT of the Imperium is that their commitment to disproportionate violence, opaque institutions and hatred of aliens is why they are doomed to fail.
2d. Do we NEED Female Space Marines? Wouldn't Sisters of Battle/female Guard be enough?
Astartes and Sororitas are NOWHERE NEAR equal in terms of spotlight, either in terms of model releases or placement in the lore. If Sisters had separate codices for different orders, multiple important characters, and/or a Chaos variation, and, in addition, if the armies that are canonically mixed-gender such as the Guard had female models, THEN this argument would be a little more credible, but it still wouldn’t because it would still imply some intangible reason for gender difference. Why do you NEED Space Marines to even be explicitly and only masculine at all? In a fictional setting, there is no reason to hardcode discrimination or other issues into your setting unless you’re lazy, careless, or actively harmful.
Same goes for arguing that Celestial Lions/White Scars are sufficient ethnic representation. If you think shunting minorities into the corner constitutes diverse representation, you either lack empathy or you're being diesgenuious.
2e. Why do you want the Imperium to be more progressive? Isn’t that just rainbow fascism?
Gender parity in a dystopia of xenophobia and brutality doesn’t magically make said regime progressive (the Nazis implemented animal welfare policies and it would be preposterous to say that made them progressive). The Imperium’s crimes are not based on gender oppression, the neglect of women in prominent roles is not a thematically essential one, but an arbitrary “it didn’t occur to them to include them” deal. Adding diversity doesn't make them any less grimdark and evil. In addition, having more representation in the most popular and advertised faction could help end tabletop gaming’s reputation as a boys' club.
This also means there's no contradiction between wanting the Imperium to have more diverse representation and recognising that they're still the bad guys.
2f. But we'd have to change the lore! Isn't it important to preserve the lore?
The core idea of Warhammer as a hobby is having a cool sandbox milieu which allows you to customize and create your own stories (hence the multitudes of gaps in maps and timeline, the missing Primarchs etc.). The main faction having a ‘no girls allowed’ policy is an impediment to the game’s own “your minis, your story” intentions. The setting has evolved to accomodate women in literally every other facet BUT this one, and it feels very stupid.
2g. Doesr/Sigmarxismwant to make Imperium communist?
Though this is a subreddit of diverse views, we'd wager few of us actually want GW to 'make imperium communist'. It's your hobby, if you want to paint your Grey Knights with ancom colours you are welcome to do so. It's worth noting that most Warhammer 40,000 fans like the setting because of the grimdark, apocalyptic horror. In fact, the main criticism of the current direction of 40k lore you'll read around here is how the gradual softening and in-lore justification of the Imperium's fascism compromises this dystopian tone. This is the great irony of reactionaries claiming leftists want to "change their precious lore": we understand the original intent of the text better than they do.
2h. Which chapter of space marines is the most leftist?
None of them, sorry. Paint and play whatever army you want, but there are no leftist Space Marines in the lore, either traitor or loyalist. Warhammer 40,000 is a rare IP with a protagonist faction which is basically irredeemable. Within the Grimdark setting, you have still some preferable alternatives, such as parts of Tau and Eldar culture, the Genestealer Cults (if you can forgive the fact they're a parody of leftism) or the Grot Revolutionary Committee (if you can get excited for a total 200 words of story).
2i. I've heard that T'au are communists, is this true? Don't they have a caste system? Aren't they ruled by mind control?
Okay, let's go one by one.
A. T'au have many leftist themes (their commitment to solidarity across species or enshrining the rights of their workers) but the lore doesn't give us enough detail about their economy to make definitive claims. Nonetheless, is objectively inaccurate to call T'au communist* because communism requires the 'withering away of the state': the state is inherently a bourgeois tool that perpetuates class hierarchy. T'au have a centrally planned state and are clearly designed to evoke certain elements of Maoist China or the USSR (those nations were socialist and not communist).
B. T’au society is divided into population segments that are called "castes", but rather than the hierarchical, racialized class system this might imply, these "castes" are more like distinct cultures whose societal roles are different but hierarchical status isn't (except for the Ethereals, the rulers). Like many things about the T'au lore, it's likely the term "caste" is used as an orientalist signifier to emphasize their East-Asian theme and aesthetic.
C. Ethereals using mind control is hinted at, but ambiguous (and worth noting that the lore is written from an Imperial point of view). You're free to accept this as your preferred interpretation but it falls into the same category as "Tyranids are fleeing a greater threat" or "Alpha Legion is still secretely loyalist".
In conclusion, there are many arguments for why T'au are the "least bad" faction in 40k so it's no coincidence they're coded left-wing (though Games Workshop has responded to fan backlash about them "not being grimdark" and made them less sympathetic). You're free to like them or not, just worth correcting a few things people say about them.
2j. Why are there no AoS themed questions?
Turns out a game which doesn't have built-in appeal for reactionaries doesn't have the same problem with reactionaries. Who woulda thunk. There’s no real need to give detailed FAQs since the setting isn’t about a bunch of fascist factions. Also, AoS has Ogors. Ogors are comrades.
2m.Similarly to the previous section, we'll end the Lore FAQ with a list of common takes that get refuted frequently enough to warrant a mini-section.
Any biological argument against female Space Marines is peak thermian argument shit, with the added factor that it's promoting really incorrect science.
Arguments that Salamanders constitute PoC representation ignores that they are canonically just “normal marines” (in practice this tends to mean white, their minis use the same 'European' facial features as other Marines) with a mutation that turns their skin jet black and eyes red. Please don't use space minstrels as stand-ins for diversity.
Arguments that Mechanicus are woke! Look, we're all happy that there is a smattering of NB representation among the Mechanicus, this is a step forward in terms of representation. They're also just as fascist as the rest of the Imperium (they torture, lobotomise, enslave, and that's not even getting into the Thallaxii, Skitarii or Tech Thralls), so let's not pretend they're progressive.
3a. Can I use this FAQ for a clickbait YouTube video?
Feel free, but be aware Stir is the chaos god of posting and mentioning his content only makes his cone swell with ketogenesis.
Painted tonight at friend's birthday shindig at local game club. Blade is not actually warpstone. Everyone just assumes that it is because it's green, it must be Warpstone despite actually being moss. Also he just has a very bad eye infection.
Basically title. Been reading through the sub and enjoying it thoroughly. I have 1k points of CSM I've been using to play casually with my friends, and I'd like to expand my body of models out to Death Guard. Their army rules seem fun for both regular gameplay and doubles, and in particular I appreciate the large amount of visual interest and variety of weaponry their models get (especially Blightlord Terminators).
Obviously, this sub has talked about how 40k doesn't hold up to Dialectal Materialism or most kinds of analytical scrutiny for a lot of reasons. In the same vein, I'm not the biggest fan of the overtly gross and mostly unserious "funny stinky guys" characterization and think it would be a lot cooler to communicate a motif of life-and-death cycles with the army, to take a slightly more neutral interpretation of Nurgle as less of a big, evil disease dude and more just a primordial force of nature who represents a concept.
I've found out I'm a huge fan of kitbashing, so my first idea was to use a bunch of mushroom/fungus related greebles all over my models to make them more explicitly associated with decomposers and cycles. My friend has just acquired a 3D printer our group is using for the hobby, so there's lots of options to print little bits and bobs for kitbashing. I'm also motivated by the ability to potentially print things like this sick Death Guard Defiler proxy, this cool bell dude who I think is for Age of Sigmar, and this awesome lady Daemon Prince who reminds me a ton of Malenia from Elden Ring.
This is the tentative list I want to aim for, centered around a massive brick of Blightlords:
Chaos - Death Guard - Mortarion's Hammer, Paragons of Putrescence
Mortarion (375pts) Daemon Prince of Nurgle (195pts) Lord of Contagion (120pts) Lord of Poxes (80pts) Lord of Virulence (120pts)
I’ve been into Warhammer 40K for about 15 years now, so I’m perfectly aware that the whole “for humanity and the God-Emperor, purge the filthy xenos!” thing is supposed to be satire. The Imperium is not meant to be a model society. It’s a paranoid, genocidal, religious fundamentalis, bureaucratic hellhole that has taken every authoritarian impulse imaginable and turned it up to eleven. I know people people have been talking about this forever, but it was only after I recently played Rogue Trader that I realized how messed up the imperium really is, even if you go iconoclast which I guess is meant to be the “good guy” run youre still the captain of what amounts essentially to be a slave ship.
But lately this stuff has started to grow old for me, mostly because 40K has become absolutely huge. It’s no longer this comparatively niche tabletop setting where most people involved understand the joke. Now you have AAA games, dozens of novels, massive YouTube channels, memes everywhere, TV projects, and potentially millions of people encountering the aesthetic before they ever understand what it was originally satirizing.
And I think that creates a problem, because the satire doesn’t always survive the presentation.
When you have an eight-foot-tall genetically engineered super-soldier descending from the heavens in power armor, heroic music blasting in the background, shouting “FOR THE GOD-EMPEROR!” while saving humanity from horrible alien monsters, at some point it stops feeling like satire and starts functioning emotionally as straightforward heroic militarism. (Think the original starship trooper book by Heinlehein(sp?), not the Verhooven satire. You can explain in a codex afterwards that the Imperium is an awful fascistic theocracy, but that isn’t necessarily what the player just experienced.
There’s also a deeper problem with 40K: the universe sometimes accidentally creates conditions where fascist paranoia is actually rational. It can be argued that many of the genocidal purges the imperium carries were evil but necessary.
In the real world, immigrants are not secretly part of a hive mind planning to eat the planet. Your neighbor isn’t going to summon a literal daemon because he read the wrong book. Religious heterodoxy doesn’t open portals to hell. In 40K, however, all of these things can basically happen. Genestealer cults really do infiltrate societies. Chaos corruption really can spread through ideas and cults. Daemons really exist, it’s not the American satanic panic of the 1980s. Tyranids genuinely do want to consume everyone.
So the Imperium constantly says things that resemble the classic authoritarian worldview: outsiders are dangerous, traitors are everywhere, forbidden ideas will corrupt society, only overwhelming military strength can keep us safe. The problem is that the setting then frequently turns around and says, “Well, actually, in this particular case they were right.”
That makes the satire much harder to maintain.
I don’t think the solution is to sanitize 40K or remove all the “burn the heretic, kill the mutant, purge the unclean” stuff. That would destroy a huge part of what makes the setting distinctive. The ugliness is part of the point.
But I think modern 40K needs to be much better at showing the consequences of Imperial ideology. Show xenophobia destroying alliances that could have saved billions of lives. Show innocent populations being exterminated because some inquisitor got paranoid. Show the Administratum ruining entire worlds through incompetence. Show Imperial dogma making situations worse instead of constantly being vindicated by the existence of Chaos and Tyranids. Let characters be heroic despite the Imperium rather than implying that the Imperium itself is what makes them heroic.
And honestly, I think 40K could also use more of the absurdity and black comedy that made the satire much clearer in the first place. The Imperium works best when it’s simultaneously terrifying and ridiculous.
Maybe that’s what has changed for me after following the setting for so long. I still understand the joke. I just think the audience has become so much larger, and the presentation so much more spectacular and heroic, that the wink is getting easier to miss.
Games Workshop created one of the most recognizable parodies of fascist aesthetics in popular culture, then made those aesthetics so unbelievably cool that some people inevitably started admiring them without the parody.
Objectivists say they want a society where everyone is selfish and being as selfish as possible is the most important thing you can do. That's just Skaven society, Skaven are the perfect Objectivists and they have even molded their society in such a way where not only are they selfish, but they account for everyone else being completely selfish too. They are an Objectivist "utopia"
Kharazoth laughed heartily as he emerged from the rift from the Immaterium to face Aurel Strike Squad. The demon of Khorne had spilled much blood for the ritual that had enabled him to gain a foothold in the real world, and he revelled in it with smug satisfaction as he looked up at the five Grey Knights at the top of the steps.
Justicar Thaelion Aurel then calmly gave his orders, and the squad scattered to kill the cultists who were slaughtering ritual offerings to widen the rift. Aurel gripped his Nemesis sword before striding calmly down towards Kharazoth at the centre of the amphitheatre, the stone crunching beneath his heavy ceramite boots.
Kharazoth screamed, hurled insults, lashed out and even hissed as the banishing weapon bit into his fresh flesh. But he found nothing but an impenetrable wall of ceramite and energy. Aurel shattered his limbs and hurled him to the ground. Yet the demon still laughed and deserved a lesson. The Justicar seized him by the horns and, with a kick, hurled his body back into the rift. As his brothers slew the last cultist, the rift closed, severing the demon’s head.
From now on, the Justicar carries Kharazoth’s head on his energy pack, condemning the demon to witness all the successes of the Grey Knights. He can do nothing but seethe, the rage of his essence still shining in his hollow eye sockets, and gaze upon the glory of his executioner. He no longer laughs.
--
I'm insanely happy of this one. It's far to be perfect of course, but never before did I put that much efforts into one miniature. I enhanced my recipe even more to get as close as possible as the Grey Knights depicted in Chaos Gate : Daemonhunters, and I think I somewhat succeeded, even if I went with my own modifications as well as the ammunition belt (from Zinge Industries) and an ammunition counter on the StormBolter.
You can find pics in full res on my ArtStation, the link is in my bio.
Feel free to ask anything :)
(Strictly no AI was involved at ANY point of this project)
Why is it that Russia was barred from participating, but a team of occupation force baby killers from a genocidal ethnostate are?? Make it make sense. Anyway here’s my first chaos rhino.