Horus Heresy is back, in plastic, ready to stomp, just the way it should be!! This week we see the plastic versions of the Cerastus Knight hit preorder. This towering melee fighter is the first dedicated Horus Heresy titan we have seen so far, and they're certainly nice kits. You may have noticed we're using the term "kits", and that's because despite all the common parts, the Castigator and Acheron are two separate kits - not the usual combi-kit we have seen in the past for Titans. Not only that, but if you're a fan or want to build a force of these guys, then the price may blow your mind! At $335 AUD and $400 NZ, that's a lot to pay for one version of a miniature, even if it is a hefty beast! It's also twice the price of a Baneblade, which is already a sizeable piece of kit. Overall these are great looking kits, but doubt there will be much army building of them! 
Blood Bowl has been getting a bit of a pump recently, and this week we have the preview of the new Vampire Blood Bowl Team, The Drakfang Thirsters. Less the grand Vampire House look and more your Victorian-era romantic style vampire, there's more puffy shirt here than at a pirate convention! With the release of the vamps, there are of course the Blood Bowl Vampire Team Card Pack and Team Dice Set, plus the Vampire Team – Double-sided Pitch and Dugouts Set and an issue of Spike! Journal Issue 16 with all the lore a rules to field these Anne Rice refugees.
It must be a week for it, because another outlier in the Games Workshop stable, The Lord of the Rings has a new two-player game, The Fellowship of the Ring™ – Battle in Balin's Tomb. This comes with 22 of the classic plastic minis, so a nice gift for a LoTR fan out there.
Made To Order is back and this time with Warhammer 40K terrain. These much-loved and much-missed sets are available for a limited time only, so jump on them if you feel the need. This wave sees the re-release of the Aegis Defence Line - Classic, Wall of Martyrs: Imperial Defence Line, the Wall of Martyrs: Imperial Defence Emplacement, the Wall of Martyrs: Imperial Bunker, the Imperial Bastion and the Skyshield Landing Pad. There's also two basing sets, the Warhammer 40,000 Hero Bases and the Sector Imperialis Large Base Detail Kit.
In books this week there's the Ciaphas Cain: For the Emperor which comes in glorious Special Edition. Now the cover reveals something we never knew - the name of the Emperor! It's right there in bold type... Sandy Mitchell! Not the name we'd thought, but I guess we can't pick our name. 

The hordes of Destruction get some much-needed reinforcements next week as the second chapter of Dawnbringers launches, bringing new foes to bear against Sigmar's Twin-Tailed Crusade. The Dawnbringers: Book II - Reign of the Brute comes in Boofy Fungal Giant Limited Edition and Ravening Green Hordes Standard Edition, packed with all sorts of goodies for your warriors of questionable personal hygiene. With the recent FAQs and rebalancing of stats (even for the new 10th Edition 40K), remember that these books come with a code to add it to your Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App, which will then have all the updates added to it - avoiding all the PDFs everyone else has to lug around with them. Seemingly it's the way of the future and the best way to keep up to date.
The undoubted hero of this expansion is the Gloomspite Gitz very own Trugg the Troggoth King, who is first available this week in Trugg's Great Troggherd with his bodyguard of Troggoths. Wow, spell check really hated that sentence! If you have now fallen for the Warriors of the Mushroom, then you may want to pick up the Gloomspite Gitz Dice Set, or in fact one of the heroes of the Dawnbringer Crusades, Rabble-Rowza, available for the first time on his own in this week's pre-orders!
Now if you're more into brutes with blades, then the big Orcs (the Orruks) are probably more your style. That being said, then you're probably grinning from ear to ear seeing the new Tuskboss on Maw-grunta/ Maw-grunta with Hakkin' Krew/ Maw-grunta Gouger combi-kit! Big Orcs on big boars... what a combination!! This mini was previewed some time ago, and finally they are here, and with multiple combinations of builds this will also be a converter's dream. The Orruks also bring an interesting character model to bear with a smithy, Zoggrok Anvilsmasha, and his cute little portable anvil. Of course this little guy caused "squees" all across the Community, but if you're more traditional in your appreciation of pure destruction, then the new Ardboys are definitely a must-have! The Ardboys are the classic Black Orcs reimagined, and with the new Ardboy Big Boss and bigger, badder, chunkier Orruk Ardboys on pre-order this week, has the sun not shone favourably upon us? Praise-be!! It's not just heavy armour, it's also Bezerkers, and they're here with the new Brute Ragerz/ Weirdbrute Wrekkaz combi-kit. Bouncing around, shirts off, lots of sweat, these dudes will carve their way through the enemy!
Orcs come in many flavours, and one such off-shoot are the swampy Kruleboyz, who this week get a new boxed set, with the Vanguard: Orruk Warclans on pre-order. Having a look at the price though, you'd be better off hunting out a Dominion boxed set - they retail for around the same and you get many more miniatures!
In books this week we have yet more in the Age of $igmar world (speaking of the Dominion boxed set) with Yndrasta: The Celestial Spear in Hardcover.

You know when you have one of those days when you walk out the door and it feels like you've left something behind? You do the wallet/ keys check and it still doesn't feel right? Well that's what this week feels with preorders! It just feels like the support act turned up to the gig but the headliner is still in the Green Room. Surely this isn't something we've waited a week for...
This week sees the new Creed Ashes of Cadia book, which comes in Special Edition or hardback. The Special Edition includes a bonus short story plus all the pretty stuff. Also this week is the Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, which interestingly is now in paperback, making it one of the few now released in all book formats. It's also a White Dwarf week, so White Dwarf 492 is available from this coming Friday.
We do have a minis release this week, but it's not available at Games Workshop stores. only at independent retailers - and that's ​Warhammer Heroes Series 4, the blind boxed minis that this time combine to be an actual useable force in their own right with rules and everything!! Do a Google search as these will pop at all sorts of stockists.

Praise be - Games Workshop have remembered that Warhammer 40k 10th Edition actually exists! This weekend we get the first real products outside the launch box, and it goes to the victors of the recent global campaign, the Tyranids!
To field your teeming masses you're going to need the new Codex: Tyranids, which comes in Get Away From Her, You Bitch Collectors Edition and Chittering Hordes Standard Edition. It should be noted that this is one of the first times GW have really gone all out on a Collectors Edition Codex, with a variant cover including silver foil lettering, and purple foil page edges. If you love you some Tyranids and can stretch to the price, this may very well be worth your while.
Lets get to the miniatures though - the real stuff we all hanker for... WH40K sees a revitalization of the Tyranids and the Norn Emissary/ Norn Assimilator combi-kit is probably the headline kit. A big chunky creature, the initial launch pictures had shown it seemingly larger, so before you jump at this kit, just have a look at the size and see if it's worth the cash. One of the most evocative, and a brand new design aesthetic is the Deathleaper. Sporting his cloak and many tendrils, this is a brilliant new direction for the Tyranids, moving away from the purely chitinous carapace forms. A more traditional design is the Neurolictor - big brain-things, long arms and a tail - he's your stealth attack dog. Absolute stand out for us is the Lictor. Always a superstar of the range, this new version has three distinct poses, all of which encapsulate the sheer terror and surprise attacks of the Tyrranid hordes. Another more traditional miniature is the Biovore/ Pyrovore combi-kit. More bug than anything else, this looks like a fantastic kitbash opportunity for Dark Eldar or other factions to me... please don't tempt me!! Away from the specialists, lets get into the screaming hordes with the brand new retooled and redesigned Hormagaunts which look absolutely fantastic, their ranged collegues, the Termagants, are a nice update, but seem to lack a bit of the character of the Hormies. Meanwhile the progenitors of the whole Tyranid range, first seen back in the original Space Hulk game, the Genestealers, have also had a refresh - bless their venerable hearts! If all of this is far too exciting, then the new Combat Patrol: Tyranids is a stonking big set with a selection of minis from the 10th Edition Launch Box. Now of course to play these happy little bundles of joy, you will need the new Datasheet Cards and if you so choose, the Tyranids Dice Set is a lovely addition to your games too.
In books this week we have the rather lovely Word Bearers Box Set Collection, the new The Rose in Darkness Sisters of Battle novel in hardback and the ​Blackstone Fortress Omnibus.
The kids at Forge World have brought back the ​Arvus Lighter too, a little early for the soon-to-be-previewed Auxilia forces for Horus Heresy.

After much anticipation and waiting, the Community will finally get their hands on some of the new Cities of $igmar minis, with the pre-order this weekend of the Cities of Sigmar Army Set. Packed with an exclusive cover variant of the Battletome, plus Warscroll cards and three transfer sheets, the Army Box also comes with miniatures - shock horror! You'll be getting two units of Steelhelms, five of the highly customisable Cavaliers, plus the Freeguild Marshal and a Alchemite Warforger. If the minis weren't cool enough, those transfer sheets are amazing! With so much more in the army, it's interesting to see this Army Box launch with two of the same kit rather than a better cross section of the army - which to us sadly seems to make this less desirable.
​This week also sees the new Vanguard: Seraphon box released. This is a great set, with the older Saurus Oldblood on Carnosaur, flanked by a unit of Kroxigors and ten Saurus Warriors. These are great minis - bit of a challenge to put together, but it pays off in the end with some excellent minis.
Like to hang the skulls of your enemies around your neck? Well this week there's some very handy  lanyards for you to do so - the ATA-BOY: Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarines Lanyard and ATA-BOY: Warhammer 40,000 Orks Lanyard are here to not only make you fashionable, but hold all the trophies of war!
In books this week we have the Warriors of the Freeguilds Omnibus, featuring a soldier on the front that's no longer available... go team!
The new 2023 miniatures for Warhammer+ subscribers have been announced with the Warhammer+ Year 3: Soulblight Gravelords – Karlina Von Carstein and the Warhammer+ Year 3: Astra Militarum – Unbroken both available for sale, but only if you subscribe! Paying top dollar for these on top of a subscription seems a little rude - surely they could be a free gift to subscribers... They're both nice minis though, and interesting to see a Soulblight Gravelord (especially a named character) appearing and not an Orc or something more mainstream.
Forge World also have a new Horus Heresy model this weekend, the Loyalist Champion Consul, which has some really nice details on it plus and alternative helmeted head. It's an interesting pose for this model, really quite passive, and potentially a little odd on the battlefield. Considering his role - to challenge and fight enemy leaders - you would think something more dynamic would be in order!

Like Warcry before it, Kill Team has given it's progenitor game - Warhammer 40K - more of a boost than any new edition could (hello 10th Edition). New units, additional units, relaunched units - Kill Team has everything a hobbyist would want, and this week not only can you get some of the units last season of Kill Team, there's also a nice heafty book! The Kill Team Annual 2023: Season of the Gallowdark brings together a tonne of information, fluff AND rules for the Imperial Navy Breachers, Kroot mercenaries, the Kasrkin veterans, the Necron Crypteks, the covert Drukhari, Exaction Squads of the Adeptus Arbites, the Leagues of Votann spec ops team, the brand new Chaos Beastmen, Inquisitorial Agents and Chaos Cults. There's also rules for the walls and hatches, close quarters fighting, terrain rules and missions for Into the Dark, Shadowvaults, Soulshackle, and Gallowfall. It's a great recap plus the go to for the newer Kill Teams. Speaking of which, here they are available for the first time outside their large boxed sets... The thing to notice with these first three Kill Teams is that you get the core unit, plus an upgrade sprue to make your spec ops unit - so the Hand of the Archon has the excellent Kabalite set plus a sprue, the Hearthkyn Salvagers have the Hearthkyn Warriors set plus the sprue (and an excellent one at that), and the new Fellgor Ravagers looks like a base unit (still to be released) plus the additional sprue. The only one that doesn't follow that rule is the Inquisitorial Agents set which boasts "lots of options" in what we'd call in the past "a standard GW offering". Also in Kill Team this week we have the Killzone Upgrade: Gallowfall which gives you bits an pieces of scatter terrain, but more importantly you have pieces for a med bay - hello diorama!!
Back with the lumbering behemoth that is the progenitor, Warhammer 40K, there's a "new" Vanguard Task Force that has nothing new in it. Look, the Age of $igmar crowd get a nice new character in their sets, so how about chuck in the Scout dude from the new Leviathan boxed set and keep us all happy? It's not a lot to ask and would be a crowd-pleaser.
Oh, and on crowd-pleasers, three of the best 40K miniatures released last edition are here for your love and attention, the brilliant Captain with Relic Shield, the Lieutenant with Storm Shield and the Chaos Master of Possession. These are all absolutely brilliant, dynamic and full of character. A must have for your army or bits box at least. A little late to the party, but the new Getting Started with Warhammer 40,000 is here. A few years back we got an excellent one (probably 8th or 9th edition launch) but since then they've all been a bit yawn-tacluar. 
In books this week we have yet another incarnation of Warhawk - The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra Book 6, this time in paperback. It seems like we get a new version of this all the time...
Last but not least, some merchandising goodness with the Devastation of The Imperial Palace Interior Map, which will likely sell pretty quickly, so get on board for that one. Not sure about the detail on this one, but the Community will let us know I'm sure.

It's a pretty rare week that Forge World take the lead with pre-orders, but this week the only minis we're getting are from the resin forges of The Forge. First off is the new Lord of the Rings diorama, Get Off the Road. It's a stunning little set and sure to be popular at the next Golden Demon. What's not entirely clear is the scale of this piece. Is it the same size as the LoTR minis or is it larger? The detail on the diorama would lead us to believe it's larger, but the price tag doesn't have the usually high mark of a larger Forge World piece. All will be revealed, but for now it's safe to say this is a very nice looking model.
Also from Forge World this week is the subtly named Bilerot Vomitflesh, a new big boy for Nurgle in Blood Bowl.
The contribution from Games Workshop this week is in the form of books, with the rather handsome Limited Edition version of Realmslayer: Legend of the Doomseeker and Godsbane in paperback on pre-order this weekend. With the Limited Edition books flying off the shelves it will be interesting to see how this one goes. 
It's also a White Dwarf week, with Issue 491 here to line the budgie cage with.

Bigger is Better is the motto for 10th Edition 40K - big guns, big monsters, big vehicles - and for 30K (which was the originator of big squads and big tanks) it looks we're getting some big Knights. Yes the mini-Titans hit Horus Heresy with the Cerastus Knight Lancer, but he's not the last of them as we'll see variants coming soon. So do you jump on the boat now or wait until you can get them all in the same box? The Community will come up with some amazing paint jobs, as the Forge World kit has already shown us, so it's a tad disappointing that the ones previewed aren't as glorious as they can be.
Warhammer Underworlds: Wyrdhollow apparently still exists, and the skirmish game that had so many great little warbands has delved back into the Skaven, a faction that needs an update like few others. This time it's all smoke and mirrors, a lot of smoke in fact with the new trend of ethereal puffs on minis taking it's ultimate form amongst the ranks of Skabbik's Plaguepack. Clan Pestilence REPRESENT! Maybe not entirely what the Community wanted in terms of new Skaven, but a win is a win. There's also 32 new universal cards in the Warhammer Underworlds: Wyrdhollow – Paths of Prophecy Rivals Deck to boost your current forces.
In what seems to be an unofficial Black Library Celebration, we have Part Two this week starting with the Fall of Cadia Mega Limited Edition - a mighty tome that includes little extra goodies including a 64-page A Diary of the Fall (a far-future sequel to the Diary of Adrian Mole - less pimples and more daemons), this time by Cadet-Corporal Wellum Josep of the 332nd Conscript Regiment. It's sure to be depressing reading. This set also includes the dogtags of Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed, a map, and a Cadian medal, which despite the fact they lost their world, they apparently get as the worst consolation prize of all time!   
Also in books this week we have Ciaphas Cain: Vainglorious, Book 11 in the Ciaphas Cain series, in hardback and Ciaphas Cain: The Anthology also in hardback. Kasrkin gets it's paperback (remember when GW released that plastic Kaskrin kit that then just disappeared?), more Astra Militarum goodness with Longshot in paperback and finally Fist of the Imperium, Apocalypse and Of Honour and Iron have all been put into one collection to form For Glory and Honour in paperback.

Slower week with rumours we'll be seeing Cities of $igmar or maybe the new Epic next week, so we start this week with the next four of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels in Black Library Print on Demand format. Book 4 - Honour Guard, Book 5 - The Guns of Tanith, Book 6 - Straight Silver and Book 7 - Sabbat Martyr can be yours until order cut off on 14th of August, but be aware that "Items will be dispatched within 120 days of ordering". The cover on Sabbat Martyr is an absolute winner, harking back to the Judge Dredd-era.
This week also sees a new Warcry Starter Set, with Crypt of Blood featuring the already-released Xandire’s Truthseekers versus the Crimson Court, plus the new Crypt of Blood Scenery which is really nice! Also in Warcry we have the individual release of the Royal Beastflayers and the Questor Soulsworn to either add to your existing Ao$ forces or throw into Warcry. The more recent Flesh-eater Courts models are looking really great, which really does make us think about a potential update to some of the very old models.
In books, well other books, we have the paperback version of The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra Book 8 - The End and the Death Volume 1, which surely must mean the final book must be on it's way!

To be fair, it's not a silly question. I mean these Cadians are like ants - you crush their home and they sprout up somewhere else! Nothing says Abaddon failed like the continued existence of Cadians. Worst of all, this week we have more of them, starting off with the new plastic Minka Lesk model. Sporting alternate head and weapon options, this seems like a lovely little kit to base all sorts of female officers on, but be aware - as a Black Library mini - it's got a higher price point than most character models and is available for a limited time. 
The various Necromunda expansions and addendums have been all grouped together to form what has to be the definitive Necromunda: Core Rulebook. Grouping all the gang rules (CLARIFICATION - thanks to our helpful reader below, we now know that despite earlier information, this doesn't include ALL the gang rules - so you will need the other expansion books to get those), plus the Trading Post from all previous books with the updated rules, this 366 page door-stopper has anything and everything you'd need to start, field or expand your forces. This is very tempting and once the AU price is released, this may be headed our way. There's also updated Necromunda: Core Gang Tactics Cards and the Necromunda: Open Hive War Card Pack with new scenarios and more. GW are back in the card sleeve market with these nice new Necromunda Card Sleeves to keep your precious cards free of Cheetos dust and the caked on blood of your foes. 
In books this week we have the new Minka Lesk-themed Shadow of the Eighth which comes in Special Edition and hardback versions, the Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield omnibus, and a new 40K Alpha Legion novel, Harrowmaster in paperback.
There's also a bit of merch this week with the Tanith Regimental Banner, which doesn't look that flash (mind you this could be the prototype) and GW haven't listed the size either. Buyer discretion is advised.

Every new edition has this week, the week when Games Workshop roll out the new Starter Sets. For anyone who's been in the hobby for a while, it's a pretty boring week - you've already started and these sets are the things that sales staff need to sell to hit targets. We've already been targeted, so this isn't for us. However, out in the Community there's the newbies who are very excited, so for them it's a big week to get stuck into a brand new edition of Warhammer 40K.
First off the rank is the Starting Warhammer 40,000: Recommended Collection, which has almost everything including some paint and hobby tools, plus some terrain. The Warhammer 40,000 Ultimate Starter Set gives you that minus the paint and hobby tools. The generic new Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set is that minus the terrain, but really gives you everything you need to play the game. Then there's the Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set which is what grandma gets you when she knows you like it and you're eager to start but the other sets are too expensive. Aren't grandmas the best? They just really want to help you enjoy the thing you love! This set has some minis, some paint and tools and the rules to play with.
It's not just Starter Sets this week though - in fact there's the new Space Marines: Infernus Marines + Paints Set and the Tyranids: Termagants and Ripper Swarm + Paints Set - so if you want to get stuck into some of the new minis and struggle with probably the worst brush ever made, this is for you! There's also a new Warhammer 40,000: Paints + Tools Set, disposable brush included, with some paints that will get you started. Now with the new edition, came some new minis, and this week we get a few of those on their own, including the new excellent Librarian in Terminator Armour (who'd be an amazing base for a Word Bearers Terminator) and the really rather oddly flaccid Barbgaunts. This week also see's the small format Warhammer 40,000: The Rules which gives you something small to take to games and refer to. In the past these have been fairly good, and as it's not too expensive, probably not a bad thing to pick up if you're going to be gaming in store or with a group with the new edition. This is also limited, so if you want it, grab it because it will probably go quite quickly!
There's also the newly rebooted White Dwarf next week which sees issue 490 start off the new Warhammer Bunker, which sounds like all the old features people liked, but in a new club... which makes you wonder if GW will monetise that in the future, like the Warhammer 40,000 app will be.

There's a few cool Forge World things this week too. One of the best Blood Bowl minis in a while i the new Ripper Bolgrot. He's been beautifully painted, but dammit, for the life of me I can't work out what his head is doing! The other mini this week is the new Sons of Horus: Decurion Lanius which gives a commander for tank units. An awesome looking mini, and only made better by the banner! The Heavy Bolter is a new pattern too which is cool.

A returned Primarch, a Heretic Tau Commander and an Ork Commando walk into a bar... and they all die because the Ork dropped one of his grenades at his feet with the pin out.
Away from his Retinue boxed set this time, the Primarch of the First Legion, Lion El'Jonson, is here. Possibly one of the most dynamic and exciting models for some time, his dynamic pose and presence is a challenge to hobbyists and a delight to see on the battlefield. An absolute favourite model, he is absolutely awesome - especially with his Tywin Lannister head. Meanwhile, that rebel Tau ideologue, Commander Farsight, is here with his updated model, and it's a huge improvement. Adding beauty and style to the Tau forces with sleek lines, and an unmistakable aesthetic, whether you paint it up as Farsight or someone else, this is an awesome mini. It's a real shame Games Workshop have really only shown him in this limited pose, because some of the hobbyists in the Tau Community have produced some amazing pieces with him. The third of the triumvirate this weekend is Boss Snikrot, an excellent addition to the Ork ranks, he comes off the back of his original model being excellent (and some say even better). Take that grenade off the base and he'll look much better, and less about-to-explode.
In books this week we have two powerful heroines - Commissar Severina Raine in Honourbound, which comes in a stellar Special Edition and the not-so-dead Inquisitor Astor Sabbathiel in Awakenings in paperback. Also this week is the return of Cypher in ​Cypher: Lord of the Fallen hardback. What does happen to the leader of The Fallen when The Fallen have all been forgiven by their returned Primarch Lion El'Jonson? Find out from the 40 universe's most unreliable witness in what will surely be an interesting insight into the secretive Dark Angels Chapter. We'll be adding this to our Audible listening list for sure!

od-King Sigmar has had enough - no more of this emo Chaos silliness in his realms, it's time for the Dawnbringer Crusades to reclaim the land conquered by Chaos. It's time for rainbows and Gummi Bears again in the world of Warhammer Age of $igmar, and with it the first chapter of this narrative campaign that will change everything!! [insert dramatic music].
The Dawnbringer Crusades start today with the pre-orders for the first book in the series, Harbingers, which follows the campaigns to retake Aqshy and Ghyran. Harbingers is available in Frazetta Did It First Limited Edition and Horsey Needs A Nap Standard Edition. The cover of this book is truly spectacular, so beautifully rendered and evocative of the times the realms find themselves in. It will be interesting to see where this goes, and hopefully it's not yet another campaign that really goes nowhere. Age of $igmar, despite some great minis, has fallen down in the eyes of many hobbyists - you may remember the reaction to new minis at Warhammerfest was just one example - so this world really needs a solid boost. Along with the first book in this series, we also have four new Regiments of Renown, all lead by a new Hero - Phulgoth's Shudderhood led by a brand new Harbinger of Decay, Fjori's Flamebearers led by a new Grimhold Exile, the Braggit's Bottle-snatchaz led by a new Rabble-Rowza and Jerrion's Delegation led by a Marrowscroll Herald. These are all great sets, and the heroes are so evocative and well done that it's exciting to see what other heroes we might be getting in upcoming boxes. For Competitive Gamers, the new General's Handbook: Pitched Battles 2023-24 is out too, with a new Realm to explore, plus battleplans and more.
​ For those deeply entwined in the Old World of Warhammer, there's a new game in town and it's not for the feint hearted. Gutter Bowl is what happens when you take Blood Bowl and move it to the streets and alleyways of cities, villages and towns... and take away the referees. It's brutal, it's mean, and for hobbyists is a whole new challenge to build amazing terrain. This week sees two teams released, Underworld Denizens Blood Bowl Team – The Underworld Creepers and Old World Alliance Blood Bowl Team – The Middenheim Maulers. These teams are mixed factions in the one team, and full tribute to Games Workshop here, unlike the recent Regiments of Renown boxes, they have actually presented these teams painted up in the colours to unify them. To go with the teams are the Team Card Packs for the Underworld Denizens and the Old World Alliance.
In books this week we have the new Grombrindal anthology Chronicles of The Wanderer in paperback and the Children of Teclis in hardback.

As crowds flock Games Workshop and independent retailers across the world today to get their hands on the Warhammer 40K 10th Edition Launch Box, pre-orders for next week bring us some more goodies for our existing armies.
If you didn't order Leviathan, then here it is, the new Warhammer 40,000 Core Book which comes in Blanchitsu Limited Edition or Which Primarch Is Next Standard Edition. This is John Blanche's last publication with Games Workshop as he enters retirement, so the Limited Edition is sure to be popular, but at $390 AUD, a bit rich for even our blood. To go with Leviathan, and actually carry it forward, we have the narrative campaign expansion Crusade: Tyrannic War which covers the rules, units and lore of the Fourth Tyranid War. Like the Core Rulebook it's also out in Chompy Chompy Special Edition or Cleanse With Fire Standard Edition. As Leviathan hits the shelves this week, there's the new Chapter Approved: Leviathan Mission Deck to expand the options in Matched Play. If you like the sound of that, then you can get the 10th Edition Essentials and get one of each of these to start your 1oth Edition adventure. The newer innovation with this edition is to replace the waste-of-time Index books from last edition with a cheaper and more easily accessible option - Index Cards. The Index Cards are broken up into two categories - the ones that are expansions to existing Index Cards so you will need to buy them first (Black Templars, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Deathwatch) so you need to have Index: Space Marines to have all available units, and the second category which are all encompassing (Grey Knights, Leagues of Votann, Genestealer Cults, Adeptus Mechanicus, Chaos Demons, Tau Empire, Drukhari, Necrons, Knight Houses, Imperial Agents, Adeptus Custodes, Adepta Sororitas, Chaos Daemons, Tyranids, Astra Militarum, Aeldari, Orks, World Eaters, Thousand Sons, Death Guard, Chaos Space Marines, Space Marines).
In books this week we have the Book Six of the Dawn of Fire series, The Martyr's Tomb which comes in Special Edition or Paperback. There's a new Warhammer Crime novel out,  The King of the Spoil 
in paperback, the Blood Angels Omnibus Lords of Blood in paperback and the paperback version of Void King which is all about Rogue Traders,

With information dribbling out of Games Workshop for the upcoming release of Warhammer 40K 10th Edition (next weekend), it seems the huge amount of information they have released is causing more confusion than the previous editions who held the information back until the Community could hold it in their hands.
This isn’t a huge surprise, however! We have seen recent issues with Codex releases with huge errors or errata after errata and the commentary around that. We see this specifically with the Leagues of Votann Codex released in the Limited Edition Army Box, showing so many key errors in points and balancing that the book was completely redone and those who were early adopters to that faction soon abandoned it in frustration.

Many believe the issues with the multiple versions of rules, errata and updates is due to Games Workshop contracting games and rules writers for specific assignments rather than having them on staff. There have been comments from these writers in the past about how they were given very short deadlines, the beta testers were not always as knowledgeable as they could be, and when it came time to revisions their contracts were over and the product was already rolling out. Obviously having rules writers on staff is expensive, and this move by GW makes economic sense, but Games Workshop are missing the very real fact that gamers are just using older rule sets and not adopting the new ones that are purportedly full of holes. A great example of this is Horus Heresy.

When 8th Edition came out, many Horus Heresy gamers were reticent to change – Games Workshop had all but abandoned supporting the system after the death of Alan Bligh and 8th Edition was a big leap away for a community who had been self-sufficient for years. The Community at large stuck with 7th Edition, with the very strong podcast scene (Eye of Horus being the prime example, with Age of Darkness also being a rallying point for a while) supporting a burgeoning tournament and social scene, also developing rules that Games Workshop themselves would later adopt. The existing rules system could, and did, exist completely without Games Workshop – and if they believe it or not – this should cause a major concern for them. It’s not unprecedented though, with various camps in the Dungeons and Dragons Community also only playing certain editions. The big difference here is that Dungeons and Dragons does not rely economically on Edition updates every 2 years or so to keep sales going. They rely on supplements and mission packs, something Games Workshop is trying with Necromunda and Adeptus Titanicus, but their short attention span and divided priorities in terms of supporting not one but multiple games systems means they loose momentum, and therefore the interest of their Community.

The danger with this for Games Workshop goes deeper than 10th Edition Warhammer 40,000. At the recent Adepticon 2023 the largest crowd reaction was for Horus Heresy and the upcoming Warhammer - The Old World, a relaunch of the pre-Age of $igmar Fantasy world. Interestingly, and worryingly, when the live crowd were asked who was excited for new Age of $igmar content, there was very little enthusiasm – in fact both Horus Heresy and Warhammer - The Old World gained even louder reactions than Warhammer 40,000. I digress, the issue is that with Warhammer - The Old World being a existing games system that has been played for well over 20 years (in the current state anyway, 30 if you want to go back to a darker age), the rules are already out there and if Games Workshop don’t get the rules correct for this new version, then people will use the miniatures and ignore the system. In fact with some units being simply remanufactured, the second hand miniatures market may even threaten Games Workshop’s miniature sales for this new incarnation.

So with that as background, what is happening with Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition? Great question!
 
Games Workshop have done something they haven’t’ done before – they have effectively given away a lot of the content that would previously been a paid item.
Not only did they release the core rules, but also points costs, well-produced Faction Focus information and Index Cards for all existing units in the game. This is a lot of information, and unfortunately for Games Workshop there seem to be inconsistencies and errors, which of course have raised questions on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Here are a few just in cursory reading:

• There’s a Data Sheet for the Venerable Dreadnought (which is discontinued from sale) but not one for the Dreadnought that they do sell.
• There is now no way to take the cheapest weapon options in a squad as the squad has one cost, despite the loadout. You are effectively paying for the most expensive loadout even if you take a less weighty combination of arms.
• The rule about attaching characters to units – something that’s very common in Horus Heresy – has caused confusion as some can, some can’t, some buff, some don’t.

 
Now sure, you can say that this is just quibbling and the usual social media grumbles, but the reality is that releasing this information early is meant to make people feel better, more secure and ready to play, not annoyed and confused.

Games Workshop have also released an interesting Games Commentary (v1) document that goes over some decisions, adds context and clarifies – but in reality if you need an 18 page document to explain this simplified rules system, a document that doesn’t come anywhere but from a website download, then already there has to be a fundamental flaw. Maybe the Games Commentary will make it’s way into the soon-to-be-published 10th Edition Rulebook, but for now it is an orphan – ready by some, but not part of the main rule set.
 
As we all know, nothing is perfect, and things will be ironed out in errata, in v1.1 and v1.2 etc, but there seems to be something fundamentally flawed in the execution if there’s this much confusion. Even if it is confusion and not errors – let’s be generous – the most important part of this game has been left out, the Community.

Do Games Workshop have a flaw in their game design? Is it too many cooks in the kitchen? Is too much information too soon a mistake? Are the rules too complicated?
 
When Games Workshop first released the guides to the changes in 10th Edition our little group were excited to learn more. But even the explanations of the changes seemed to need explaining, obviously written by someone with a lot of assumed knowledge and understanding. Good for them, but to assume makes an “as” of “u” and “me”.
 
With the new rulebook only available in the boxed Leviathan set, or in various downloads off the Games Workshop website, this current mess will continue. In editions past, the rulebook would be released outside the boxed set on Day 1, giving the Community time to sit and digest the book all at once. Now, with this strategy of having bits and pieces and no clear idea when we can get the book in store, the Community could potentially lose interest, spirit, drive, or they will buy into the commentary online and decide it’s all too hard.
 
As much as knowledge is power and having the information early is generous and helpful, that’s only if the information is a. correct and b. digestible and interesting. It seems for 10th Edition, the Community have ruled that it’s neither – at least so far! 

Having been around for Warhammer 40,000 1st Edition, it's really quite weird to be here for the Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition. I guess this is what it's like to be one of the old school Dungeons and Dragons players who've seen edition upon edition, and so follows Games Workshop and their flagship product, Warhammer 40,000!
 10th Edition launches with the Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan box - 72x brand new plastic miniatures pitting the Imperial Space Marines against the the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Like recent releases, these miniatures are unfortunately push-fit, so will lack the intrinsic ability to be easily customised, but a sharp knife and some glue will fix that! The Space Marines side has 25 miniatures including a Captain in Terminator Armour, a Lieutenant with Combi-Weapon, a Librarian in Terminator Armour, an Apothecary Biologis in Gravis Armour, a Ballistus Dreadnought, five of the new Terminators, five Sternguard Veterans and ten Infernus Marines.
The Tyranids have 47 chitinous murder machines with a Winged Tyranid Prime, a Neurotyrant and their Neuroloids, a Screamer-Killer, a Psychophage, three Von Ryan's Leapers, five Barbgaunts, eleven Neurogaunts, twenty of the new Termagants and two Ripper Swarms. The set also includes a huge rulebook, Space Marines Transfer Sheet, a 66-card Chapter Approved: Leviathan Mission Deck to generate missions.
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Now before you scuttle off and order your set today, keep in mind that different retailers have different promotional Items - the GW webstore for example has the carboard Leviathan Battlefield, where as in-store pre-orders have acrylic tokens and independent stockists have other items. So work out which junk you want and order accordingly. Independent stockists will also have a hefty discount on the RRP price, which may be a better bargain than some promotional stuff.
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To go along with the release of Leviathan, there's the background novelisation imaginatively called Leviathan which comes in a very attractive Special Edition and a hardcover edition.
There's also some squad-sized bundles this week to start you on your way in 10th Edition - Armoured Fist Squad for the Imperial Guard, Big Breaka Boyz for the Orks, Death From Afar for the Eldar, Repentance Through Death for the Sisters of Battle/ Imperial Agents, and The Strong Prevail for the mighty Chaos Space Marines.
With Warhammer 40,000 Leviathan being a two week pre-order window (so you won't get your box until 24th of June), we expected next week to have some Made To Order minis to keep us busy on a Saturday morning.  Interestingly though, they were listed this week, with classic Seraphon appearing from the vagueries of warp space. We have the Skink Starpriest (Classic), Tehenhauin (and his shocked sidekick), Skink Chief with Blowpipe (a pose we later see repeated in the Chameleons), Skink Chief with Scythe and Shield, Skink Chief with Sword & Shield, the Saurus Oldblood on Carnosaur (Classic) and the Slann Mage-Priest on Palanquin. Some of these minis have been OOP (Out of Production) for a very long time, so interesting to see them back,
In books we have the paperback of Siege of Terra: Echoes of Eternity and it's a ​White Dwarf week, with issue 489 on shelves on Friday.

Now, initially we we told by everyone's favourite passive aggressive GW Guy, Eddie, that there would be tonnes of these Leviathan boxed sets available - but now it's limited, one box per customer and there's a queue system on log in to the GW webstore. 

As the slow build up to Warhammer 40K 10th Edition rumbles along, we have a small week this week - an opportunity to save your pennies!
In yet another drive for sales, Games Workshop have released the 300th starter set for Warhammer Underworlds. This one comes with a very small set of miniatures and targets the 30 minute game length. Interesting to see this in GW stores and not as one of the US Target Exclusive sets, which is where these much smaller sets generally end up.
In other Warhammer Underworlds news, the new Wyrdhollow warband - The Headsmen's Curse - are out, bringing four more ghoulish warriors to the game. Certainly not a spectacular release, but a nice addition to the range. To accompany the warband there's also the new ​Warhammer Underworlds: Wyrdhollow – Voidcursed Thralls Rivals Deck which adds new cards for Rivals, Nemesis, and Relic games and can be used by any warband.
In Warhammer 40K releases we have the new Space Marines Heroes Series 3 Death Guard miniatures, which are not only packed with detail, but bring the "cute" back into Nurgle with each Space Marine accompanied by some form of Nurgling or Kawaii Death Machine. These miniatures really are amazing - even as a non-Nurgle fan, the detail packed into them is really impressive - as are the paint jobs.
In books this week we have the new Age of $igmar Yndrasta: The Celestial Spear Limited Edition, which is indeed a handsome tome.
In the "rubbish to clutter up your desk" range, the new ​Warhammer 40,000 Chibi Figures Series 2 are here. These again follow the tradition of a single Blind Bag, so you don't know which one you're getting! How exciting... Mind you, the inclusion of the Crimson Fist from the cover of Warhammer 40K 1st Edition - Rogue Trader - is pretty cool.
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Speaking of Warhammer 40K 10th Edition, Games Workshop have released the rule so we can brush up on the changes pre-release. As you may have heard, the rules were leaked a week or so back, but this is the official pre-erratta, pre-points rebalancing, pre-typo fixing version - please enjoy!

Finally, after all the excitement and not-buildup, the Seraphon are here. It's been a weird strategy, with Games Workshop holding off two of the main articles to get people interested until last night - the Designer's Notes and some alternative colour schemes. For a big release, it's a strange one, and has dulled the expectation somewhat, but there you go! Maybe 40K 10th Edition has them distracted.
The Seraphon launch with their new Battletome which comes in How Do I Paint All These Scales Limited Edition and Godzilla's Progeny Standard Edition. There was of course another version in the Army Box, now discontinued.
In terms of miniatures we have a very detailed a lovely update for the Slann Starmaster, who has multiple build options if you want to field more than one. Like a junior Lord Kroak, his is mounted on a floating shrine, so good luck painting that! The Skink Starseer is must-have for anyone fielding an army, and this model is a nice update, and pretty faithful to the originals. When it comes to the stabby-stabby part of the army, you have the ​Saurus Scar-Veteran on Aggradon to lead the way. A really stunning and dynamic model, this will surely be seen heavily at Golden Demon next year. Another buff unit is the Saurus Astrolith Bearer, a lovely mini in it's own right, with a massive banner and another dynamic pose. The cavalry unit, the Aggradon Lancers, have a number of weapon options and could be a really colourful unit to field - not sure about all the painting though. It will be fun to see what the Community come up with. The backbone of the Seraphon army are the Saurus Warriors, an amazing update on the previous models. Full of detail, these are truly exciting. Speaking of exciting, have a look at the Kroxigor/ Kroxigor Warspawned combi-kit. Honestly I'm stuck deciding between the two options, but they're both amazing - especially the crocodilian Warspawned who take to the field for the Seraphon for the very first time. The Skinks, despite not getting an infantry update (and marked as "No Longer Available" on the GW Webstore), do get a cavalry unit or two with the Raptadon Hunters/ Raptadon Chargers combi-kit. Skinks are already a very strong choice, so these too will not only be on the battlefield in numbers but we're sure also in painting competitions around the world. The final mini in this release is the Spawn of Chotec, which to us is a weak spot. The beast itself is okay, but the Skink offsiders are pretty lackluster comparatively which is a real shame.
No books this week, unfortunately, despite the lack of Seraphon-themed books in the Black Library vaults. 

Just when you thought Kill Team had covered it all, they bring yet another faction to light, and in Kill Team: Ashes of Faith, it's the Inquisition! That's right, 7 x new Inquisitorial Agent miniatures with multiple options for each one! They are aided in their work by 5 x Militarum Tempestus Scions and 5 x Sisters of Silence. They face off against servants of the Chaos Gods with the Chaos Cult Kill Team consisting of Chaos Cultists, 5 x Accursed Mutants, 3 x Twisted Torments and at the head - the Dark Commune (who to be fair haven't really had that much attention!). This will be a popular box, and will undoubtedly increase the sales of Tempestus Scions!
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The Horus Heresy gets the first Campaign book since the relaunch, with Campaigns of The Age of Darkness – The Siege of Cthonia - which includes new missions, a campaign system, rules for Zone Mortalis rules, and battles set in the Siege of Cthonia. There's also some new units, upgrades, and characters for all Legiones Astartes armies that field units in the latter part of the Horus Heresy. Why they are choosing the latter part and not earlier to bring new people in, no one knows! Seems like a huge opportunity lost! What's really interesting about this book is that Horus Heresy is now Games Workshop's second most popular franchise and the announcement of this book has had seemingly zero splash or interest in the Heresy Community. Is it the period it's set in? Is it the fact it concentrates on a niche battle between two over-exposed Legions leaving little interest for other players? Either way, it's something GW need to think about.
Also in Horus Heresy we have the new plastic Legion Vindicator Siege Tank, which not only sports the ubiquitous Demolisher Cannon, but also a personal favourite, the Magna Laser Destroyer variant!
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​This week also sees the end of the road for some old Space Marine favourites as they go into Last Chance to Buy and therefore Made To Order. Surprisingly one of them is fairly new, in the form of the Primaris Company Champion. There are of course the venerable minis as well, Brother Corbulo, Captain Tycho, Blood Angels Captain in Terminator Armour (in plastic), the much-loved Dark Angels Company Master, the wacky and bizarre Chaplain Cassius, probably the best Scout model since the Rogue Trader days Sergeant Telion, Sergeant Chronus, the very detailed and beautifully sculpted Captain Sicarius, the Tyrannic War Veterans (notice the variant MKIV plate on the grenade throwing dude), White Scars Khan on Bike, the excellent Gabriel Seth, Darnath Lysander, Chapter Master Pedro Kantor of the Crimson Fists and the original ​Flesh Tearers Shoulder Pads.

The next chapter of Warcry is here with Nightmare Quest, which nicely builds on the current Gnarlwood terrain, plus harkens the entrance of the Seraphon into the universe with a rather cool ziggurat. Nightmare Quest sees yet another Stormcast unit - the Questor Soulsworn take on the Royal Beastflayer ghouls. Ghouls are some of the best characters in the Ao$ universe, thinking they are noble warriors while we see their true visage as rotting undead. The idea of sentient undead is brilliant! This set, disappointingly, has less terrain than others, but linked with the previous sets will fit in well.
Speaking of Warcry, the latest warbands are now available seperataly - the Khorne-based Claws of Karanak and the vampire samurai, the Askurgan Trueblades. The Askurgan Trueblades caused a bit of a storm when released, being a brand new look at vampires, but having a closer look at them this week... they just don't seem that exciting. Maybe it's the photography, maybe it's time, not sure - but they have lost their luster a bit. It will be interesting to see what the Community do with them, however.
In books this week we have the new Prince Maesa in paperback, a tale of romance and questing, and Blightslayer in hardback. It's also a ​White Dwarf week with issue 488,