What a year it has been for Warhammer. The hobby has gone from strength to strength, and while I've spent most of my time accepting Kickstarter releases from indie designers like Gardens of Hecate, Miscast, and Smash Bash, the big dog Games Workshop has been quietly releasing some of its best stuff in years. Whether you're a fan of Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar or The Old World, you've probably been served some delicious plastic scraps for your army or been tempted to start another during the year 2025.
Specialized games have also been quietly successful. The new edition of Blood Bowl was a surprise to most fans, along with two new Old World teams Bretonnia and Tomb Kings. We poor Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game fans don't have such a delicious feast compared to last year's excellent War of the Rohirrim release, but we're used to it. I'm just crossing my fingers that Last Alliance comes out again next year.
So without further ado, here are the ten best Warhammer miniatures released in 2025, ranked completely objectively without any bias towards my favorite armies. No. Stop asking.
10
This cheeky Breton blood bowl player
A new Blood Bowl miniature? In the year of our lord two thousand and twenty five? It's more likely than you think. Not only did we get a surprise release of a new edition of the game, but we also got two Old World teams. The highlight of the box, at least for me, is this sassy Breton leading the line.
If I ever betray my beloved Norwegian team, I will make sure this Catcher gets all the points of the star players before they inevitably suffer brutal injuries and are forced to retire.
9
Lord Marshal Drier
Since I'm not allowed to include the stunning new plastic Prussian Stosstrupens Trench Crusade on the Games Workshop minigames list, I'll do the next best thing. The Death Korps of Krieg line inspired my Heretic Legion conversions for Tuomas Pirinen's exploding indie game, but this figure deserves attention in its own right.
There's something about mounted Warhammer characters that designers always nail, from the Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal to the Harbinger of Decay, and Lord Marshal Drier is no different. The Death Korps of Krieg are the iconic Astra Militarum faction, the new plastic line is spectacular and this figure is the best of them all.
8
Saturnine Dreadnought
what to say to that? I'm a Dreadnought guy. The Saturnine box set heralded the third edition of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy and brought Mark 2 Space Marine armor to plastic for the first time. However, my favorite miniature was the Saturnine Dreadnought included in the box. Less small and more large, this beast stands almost as tall as an Imperial Knight and looks similarly impressive.
There were some great characters released for the system this year (Iron Hands Legion Praetor comes to mind), but otherwise Horus Heresy 2025 didn't live up to its potential. We hope it will offer some more interesting models next year.
7
Silberlant Sevos Infotek
I could have put four or five Necromundo characters on this list. Aster Felsturn, The Cadaver Merchant, Coven House Ty Onmyodo, even Thatos Pattern Fortified Hab Module – piece of terrain!—looks like a boss.
However, one mini stands out to me more than others. Maybe it's because I re-read Neuromancer on a long plane ride this summer, but Silberlant Sevos feels like it was ripped from the pages of Gibson or Pondsmith. Connected to computers and surrounded by screens, this Infotek perfectly represents the miserable lives of ordinary people in the 41st millennium.
6
Wight King on Skeletal Steed
Like the Grand Cathay line, the Soulblight Gravelords received a number of brilliant sculpts in 2025. The Revenant Draconith (a remake of the old Zombie dragon, my longtime favorite mini) is an obvious choice, but the diorama Summons, Barrow Knights, and Vampire Lord are all on Tremendou Steremen.
But the Wight King takes it for me. As I mentioned earlier in Lord Marshal Drier's post, mounted figures have had paint contests on their necks for several years now, so I fully expect this mini to take home the Golden Demon of some color in 2026.
5
Battle Wizard Empire
This is a completely subjective pick (as is this entire list, but at least we can pretend otherwise), mainly because I've been incredibly invested in picking up a bunch of Oldhammer kits on eBay this year. I've mostly bought the old Mordheim kits, but this wizard and his familiar are a perfect mix of old and new.
After a few mistakes in the new Old World designs, I feel like Dave Andrews or Trish Carden could have designed it. I just hope I can paint it right – the clean, retro vibe is difficult for a gloomy Blanche student like me.
4
Flawless blades
Listen, I know what you mean. Where is Fulgrim? Why didn't you choose Fulgrim? You can't have a list of the best Warhammer miniatures of 2025 without Fulgrim. Well, um, it turns out you can. I don't know if it's because I prefer the resin version of Forgeworld or just because of the 40k derpy face model, but the Flawless Blades were my favorite release for Emperor's Children.
Enough about the Primarch though. I may have converted my Flawless Blades to fallen Iron Hands, but I loved every minute of building this set. There's a lot of flair in the alternate poses, brilliant detail carved into the armor and some nice areas of empty space that make them a joy to paint.
3
Sky Lantern Grand Cathay
The entire Grand Cathay line is stunning, a good example of doing proper cultural research before designing a new faction. I've converted models from across the range into a custom Mordheim warband, but the focus has to be the Sky Lantern. Shout out to Cathayan Sentinel, Shugengan Lord to Great Spirit Longma and also to Fire Rain Rocket but Sky Lantern is my favorite.
There's nothing quite like Sky Lantern in any Warhammer series, and it's that uniqueness that draws me to it. It represents the new Cathay range so well and I can imagine it would be a joy to paint as well. The crew is full of fun little details – unfortunately hidden under the beauty of the balloon, but great for a Mordheim war party.
2
All of Warhammer Quest: Darkwater, but especially Mulgoth the Cleaver
The rules of Warhammer Quest: Darkwater seem a little simplistic and the hex-based boards a little flimsy, but the sculpts on display here are stunning. Drolf Ironhead, Kelthannor and Inara Sion are the highlights from the hero side, but it's the hideous Nurgle minis that really tickle my toes.
The antagonists offer a wide range of hideous demons, and the standout for me is Mulgoth the Cleaver. You can feel the weight of this miniboss's ax, and its stance is both proud and imposing. I don't know if I'll ever play the game, but the miniatures, and Mulgoth in particular, made me want to throw three figures in a plastic box.
1
Spiritual
As tempting as it was to include a brand new Phoenix Lord on this list (because how often does that happen?), Lykhis of the Warp Spiders was unfortunately overshadowed by September's new Warhammer+ mini subscription. This Spiritseer stands proudly atop a fallen wraith knight, pushing the humble tactical rock into stratospheric levels, creating by far the nastiest miniature of the year.
But this isn't a list of the worst minis of the year, or even the best foundation of the year. This Spiritseer model takes what was previously a humble, underrated unit and turns it into a character worthy of the Aeldari. It could be the cover art of a codex or a novel. It's completely useless on a table top, but it's sublime as a display piece. Now I just have to work up the courage to paint it.
