The votes are in, the die is cast, and it’s time to announce the winner of Warhammer Miniature of the Year 2023 – as chosen by you. And though we can all agree that the pugnacious Idoneth octopus Cephanyr has been cruelly robbed of the top spot,* the eventual winner has proven tough to determine, with just 752 votes in it. It’s a true battle of the brothers…
The voting process didn’t look exactly as it’s pictured above – we’re doing battle with spreadsheets and online forms rather than divine heirlooms and warp-saturated brass, but the effect is the same: only one brother can prevail.
But before we reach the second Battle of Wyrmwood, there are a few other fabulous miniatures for your consideration.
We begin our roundup with a stalwart of the Age of Sigmar, returning on a glorious new ride. It’s Ionus Cryptborn!
In ninth place is Deathleaper – did anyone see that coming? Arguably the most extra Tyranid ever spawned by the ineffable alien intellect of the Hive Mind, this beguiling bioform really cuts a dash.
Perfected biology not enough for you? Why not enhance it with some eye-catching infernal machinery? Yes, it’s Abaddon’s new best mate – Vashtorr the Arkifane.
Even when crash-landing into melee, the impractically-armoured Commander Dante of the Blood Angels looks fabulously elegant. Bet he doesn’t have to clean the blood off his power armour himself afterwards…
The Lioness of the Parch arrives on the most magnificent Manticore ever conceived by mortal hand or eye.
The Harbinger of Decay is another miniature from Warhammer Age of Sigmar that peers back in the murky past of Warhammer and drags a classic silhouette wheezing and gurgling into the modern era. Lookin’ good, guy!
People had been saying that what the galaxy needed was some even bigger and more unpleasant Tyranids, and that’s exactly what we got in the towering form of the Norn Emissary.
In third place is Commander O’Shovah. He’s the only dude in the T’au Empire bad enough to head into battle with a sword, and so it’s only fitting that he gets a model that makes him seem like he may even know how to use it.
Flapping into contention from all the way back in January comes Angron, the Red Angel. The angriest daemon prince in any of the worlds of Warhammer, Angron set the tone for a furious year of galactic conflict. He even unexpectedly got to battle his brother, who just about got the better of him during the climax of the Arks of Omen narrative, and who just about manages the same in the real battle…
…yep, it’s Lion El’Jonson. The returned Primarch of the I Legion, a powerhouse of combat and chivalry, and a magisterial presence on any shelf. Having defeated Angron through superior acumen in battle and a handful of votes, he’s a worthy victor as Warhammer Miniature of the Year 2023. For Caliban!
* And – we counted – the next 70 places too…