The new edition of Necromunda is here and we have the first of the expansion books and some great new minis! Let's start with the ladies and delve into the stim-soaked world of the Escher. The new Underhive Journal: Escher – The House of Blades promises an expanded background, some new variant gang lists, and all the usual fare, plus the rules for Escher Chem-alchemy. A new edition to this... edition... are the new rules for Escher Wyld Runners and their pets, and Escher Chymist Cults (there's some sort of crossover here with Emperor's Children gene manipulation - just wait!). There's also new miniatures, with the Escher Matriarchs & Phyrr Cats. This set allows you to make a selection of Gang Queens and a Gang Matriarchs, plus 2 x Phyrr Cats. The Escher miniatures from the new edition of Necromunda are also available separately as the Escher Blades of the Matriarch, giving you a wide selection of weapons and customisation options. Again, these aren't as universally flexible as a normal multi-pose kit, but some slicing and dicing will do it. We also have the Escher Card Pack and House Escher Dice.
The big boys and girls of Necromunda also get some pore-orders this week, with the new Underhive Journal: Goliath – The House of Chains. We're told this journal will give us some fresh background material, variant gang lists, fighter profiles, etc etc, plus rules for Goliath Gene-smithing! This book also has the rules for the Goliath Furnace Brutes, Unborn Gangs (just foetus sliding around crying at people??) and more. There's a set of new minis too, with the Goliath Forge Bosses & Sumpkrocs. This is just too good and a deep dive into the real fandom of Necromunda. I remember the Eye of Horus Podcast talking about Sumpkrocs years ago and now we have some in plastic! This set gives you the bitz to make Forge Tyrants and Forge Bosses, plus two of those glorious Sumpkrocs. Very pleased to see some strong female Goliaths here! Represent, ladies!! The other kit on pre-order is the one from the new edition of Necromunda, the Goliath Forge Smelters. There's the Goliath Card Pack and House Goliath Dice up for pre-order too.
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In books this week we have the new Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom in Hardback, and if you want a Special Edition version, then that goes on pre-order 3pm BST on Wednesday 9th September. The other book this week is the Imperial Guard-themed Voice of Command in Hardback.
Here's something fun - it's a White Dwarf week, and for the rest of the world you are getting White Dwarf 528, but for Australia and New Zealand, we are getting White Dwarf 527. Yep, this is what it's like to be important to Games Workshop! Thank you so very much. 
In the name of completism, the Raldoron: Revenant in Special Edition is listed on the Australian and New Zealand webstore this weekend, but as it never went on pre-order here, it is just listed as SOLD OUT. Fans in this neck of the woods didn't even get a chance to order it!

Good lord, it's a bit of a convoluted weekend of releases, and that will vary widely depending on where you live - either way we will try to collate it all together in some sort of logical flow!
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It's Custodes Week!! That's right, get your favourite gold outfit out and parade the streets in celebration... or just calmly be excited. Either/or! This is an interesting release because it's the first time (as far as I can remember) that we have a combined Warhammer 40K and Horus Heresy labelled box. That's correct, the new Custodes Support Battle Group is legal for both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: The Horus Heresy (even though we all mix and match our minis so it doesn't really matter, the big deal here are the rules!). Unfortunately the set itself isn't very exciting to look at, only sporting 4 x Gyrfalcon jetbikes, a Pallas Grav-attack, and a Telemon Dreadnought. It would have been nice to have some infantry or an exclusive commander mini to make this a bit more special. The release of this set neatly aligns with the new Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Journal Tactica – Prospero Burns: Judgement of Valdor, which gives us the background on the Thousand Sons vs Custodes battle that was the assault on Tizca. The book also includes "new scenarios, game rules, extra units, and a brand new army list for Daemons of Tzeentch". Any new units are of definite interest to hobbyists and gamers alike, so this will be a must-have for the Horus Heresy (and Tzeentch) fans. The final Custodes release for this week are the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legio Custodes Dice Set, which are very pretty and probably already sold out!
It does need to be noted that if you're in Australia, New Zealand or Japan, your excitement needs to be tempered because you don't get to order these new fun things this week. You've been bad and Santa has been notified! 
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Warhammer: The Old World, you beautiful beast! Just such a wonderous collection of old and new minis - really it's Prime Warhammer... Prime-hammer! That's what we're going to call it. PRIME-HAMMER! Anyway... we have new Battle March boxes, that's right, boxes that contain approximately enough minis for "quick" 400-750 point games. For fans of PRIME-HAMMER, the winner would likely be the Empire of Man: Battle March Army, which includes a Commander of the Empire, 20 x Empire State Troops (armed with either pikes or sword and buckler), 10 x State Missile Troops (armed with either crossbows or handguns), 10 x Empire Archers, 10 x Flagellants and 5 x Outriders/ Pistoliers. Our friends in green aren't missing out, with the ​Orc & Goblin Tribes: Battle March Army, which features an Orc Boss on War Boar, Battle Standard Bearer, Goblin Shaman, 15 x Orc Boyz, 5 x Wolf Riders, 5 x Orc Boar Boyz and an Orc Boar Chariot. The Elves also get some love, with the High Elf Realms: Battle March Army sporting a High Elf Lord, 10 x Lothern Sea Guard, 5 x Shadow Warriors/ Sisters of Avelorn, 5 x Ellyrian Reavers, a Lothern Skycutter (an amazingly versatile kit which can assmbled with either 3 x Lothern Sea Guard, 2 x Lothern Sea Guard and a bolt thrower, or just a High Elf Lord with a Lothern Sea Guard) and a Tiranoc Chariot/ Lion Chariot of Chrace. This is a great set!! The other Elves (the ones who wash less and are a bit feral), also appear in the Wood Elf Realms: Battle March Army includes Araloth, Lord of Talsyn, 10 x Eternal Guard/ Wildwood Rangers, 5 x Sisters of the Thorn/ Wild Riders of Kurnous, 8 x Glade Guard/ Deepwood Scouts, and 4 x Glade Riders. Last, but very much not least (and speaking of a bit on-the-nose) the Beastmen Brayherds: Battle March Army. Now this is a great box, giving you a really nice slice of the infantry element of the Beastmen, including a Beastman Chieftain, Beastman Shaman, 10 x Ungors, 10 x Bestigors, 20 x Gors and 10 x Chaos Warhounds. Glorious - and also a new transfer sheet!! Beastmen are brilliant to paint, even if they look a bit old, so if you've ever been on the fence about them, now is the time. 
At around $200 AUD, these boxes are all great and a perfect opportunity to start in Warhammer" The Old World... sorry! PRIME-HAMMER!!!
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Moving into the delayed releases territory, not all of us got the Warriors of Chaos Lord/Sorcerer on Chaos Dragon, so here he is. This giant kit builds either a Lord on Chaos Dragon or a Chaos Sorcerer on Dragon. Which ever one you choose not to mount, the other character has pieces to allow it to wander around on foot causing havoc. With different weapon and head options, these alternative builds for the be-footed character are great!
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In books this week we have the new Custodes-themed Raldoron: Revenant in Hardback and Special Edition (in some areas of the world).

The classic "bad guys" of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Orks, have had a massive glow-up for 11th Edition, and it starts right here with the very first stand-alone Codex for 11th edition. Sporting a new look, Codex: Orks is available in The Mighty WAAAARRRRGGGGHHH! Collector's Edition and Pass That Grot Standard Edition. Like the previous edition, Codex: Orks has a code to access the new rules in the Warhammer 40,000 App, which will apparently give you "ongoing subscription to regular rules updates, additional detachments, new lore, and advanced hobby guides that will be added to the app". Not entirely sure what this is going to look like, but this is a step up from the past and is a new era for errata and the addition of new units. 
In miniatures we have the new Warboss Nazdreg, resplendent in his knock-off Ork version Terminator plate. This is a sizeable miniature and a great model, though the amount of extra parts for customizing hasn't been specified - which is interesting considering the amount of customizable options in the latest Age of $igmar and Warhammer: The Old World kits.
If it's options you want, then the new Warboss has those in spades, with optional weapons, heads and other cool bitz. Is it just us or is the axe-wielding arm way too small?
On to one of the best minis in this release, and what would the Orks be without their resident Meks? This new Mek mini doesn't seem to be very customizable (ironically) but he's incredibly thematic and just beautifully painted in the preview shots. Such loving attention to detail has to be a winner with Ork fans!
The heart and soul of any Waaargh! are the Boyz. Long before that term was used in Mad Max, these rank and file warriors are the backbone of the Orks. These new versions have a thicker, longer torsos and do look different to the previous kits. This Boyz kit comes with lots of weapon and head options, with each now either dual-wielding or carrying a heavy weapon. The Boyz are of course led by a larger Nob, who looks like a real brute!
The venerable Trukk kit now has a new version, and as it needs to be, it packs lots of options including a heavy spiked ram or dozer blade, relocatable shooting platform, a choice of big shoota or rokkit launcha, a choice of grabbin' klaw or buzzsaw, plus crew and chassis options as well. The old kit was amazing, so here's hoping there's a place for both in 11th Edition and beyond.
Prefer your Boyz a-zoomin'? Well the new Warbikers kit is for you, with three bikes, multiple customization options. Get your motor running and get your Boyz on the road. 
This week sees some of the minis from the Armageddon boxed set available separately too, with the Armageddon Kommand Krew which includes a very cool Bannernob, a Bigboss, and a Painboy with his Grot Orderly. Also from Armageddon, the Weirdboy, Wartrakk and Big Mek Dakkarig maked their debut as separate kits.
(There's conflicting information about if the Orks will be available in Australia, New Zealand, Japan or Korea, but they turned up on the pre-order for Australia and New Zealand, so best to check your local iteration of the website).
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With the new edition there's a new Command Pack: Orks which includes 94 reference cards, plus a set of 36 double-sided tokens for tracking the rules. There's also a new set of Orks Dice.
Also in Warhammer 40,000 is the delayed release of Combat Patrol Terrain Set Battlezone for some markets which includes 2 x fold-out card game boards, 16 x full-colour double-sided card Terrain Objective Markers for buildings, 4 x Large Manufactorum Ruins, 4 x Small Manufactorum Ruins, a Shock Array, Capacitor Stack, 2 x Rockcrete Barricades, a Generator Shrine and 2 x Galvanic Pylons. It's a core set for those starting out, unless you make your own terrain, but the price is pretty high for the uninitiated.   
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We have Made To Order, this time with another classic Warhammer enemy - the Skaven. There's Ikit Claw (metal), Queek Headtaker (metal), Deathmaster Snikch (metal), Tretch Craventail (metal), Skweel Gnawtooth (metal), Plaguelord Nurglitch (metal), Warlord Spinetail (metal), the Classic Verminlord (metal), Warpgnaw Verminlord (I think a former Forgeworld resin kit), Throt the Unclean (metal), and Lord Skrolk (metal). Skaven are always full of character and the vast majority of these are excellent!!
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That's not the only Made To Order, with some Middle-earth minis on offer too, with the Classic Khazad-dûm Dwarven Commanders, Classic Khazad-dûm Dwarven Bowmen, Classic Khazad-dûm Dwarven Warriors, Galadriel, Protectress of Lothlórien, Classic Guards of the Galadhrim Court, and Classic Lórien Elf Bowmen. These are all in metal.
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For some reason the Raptors / Warp Talons combi-kit is showing up this week - maybe a restock - so there you go! 
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In books we have Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! in Illustrated and Annotated Edition, Deathwatch in Special Edition, Demolisher in paperback, and Bjorn: The Fell-handed in hardback.

We need to preface this week's update by stating the obvious - the Ogor Mawtribes (in their entirety - Batteltome and all) are not up for pre-order this weekend in Australia and New Zealand... not even the dice! It's said, it's out there - moving on!
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The Ogor Mawtribes have needed an update for a long time. Originally built to be ranked up, they suffered from a stagnant look and a lack of the threatening presence that they project in the lore. Thankfully Games Workshop have delivered, with a glow-up for the ages!  
The new Ogor Mawtribes begin here - the new Battletome: Ogor Mawtribes which gives you the lore, the new units and all the goodies you need to field this brilliant looking refresh! There's two version, the Juicy Manflesh Standard Edition and the Yum Yum, Get In My Tum, I Will Eat Your Fleshy Bum Gamer’s Edition (which also includes the softback version of the battletome and the Warscroll Cards).
Every faction needs a leader, and for these brutes it's Morga the Mighty mounted on their be-horned best. This is a combi-kit, so if you're not into Morga, then you can also choose to make a generic a Tyrant on Glutthorn as the kit gives you lots of bits to be creative!
Morga isn't the only character as we also have the High Slaughtermaster himself, Redd the Maw with their minion-powered cauldron, and the she-beast Grell Firefist (just casually one-handing a cannon). 
Looking for something a little more generic and customisable to lead your troops? Well the new Tyrant
is the way to go. Sure to be a centrepiece model (and a favourite for Golden Demon), the Tyrant comes with alternative gut plates, three different heads, two sets of weapons for each hand, and two separate back banners to really bring them to life! This seems like a brilliant kit and will surely be hugely popular!
Now if you wanted your friendly neighbourhood Ogors to be friendly, we have some bad news - and Redd the Maw was a hint - these chaps are not friendly and enjoy the taste of man-flesh. That being said, this means you'll need a Butcher - and here he is! Super-gross and with an alternative head (sporting the hood we all know and love) this is a powerful unit that will cause some serious damage to their foes.
Let's get into some troops, and as the Butcher needs pals, the Cleavers/Gutseers combi-kit have their hands in the air to help. Particularly grotesque, this is definitely a unit not for anyone without a few pots of Blood For The Blood God around. The Ironguts have to be the standout unit in this release, with their heavy armour and alternative weapons and head options. This is the vision I think most of us have of Ogors, and finally we have them!! These are on my shopping list for sure! If you need something not as elite bust still packing power, then the line infantry of the Ogor Mawtribes is for you! Gluttons by name, gluttons by nature, this unit has a wide variety of weapon and head options, plus "all sorts of optional cosmetic parts".
There's some more specialised units too, with the Maulbeast Raiders/Maulbeast Cavalry combi-kit. The Maulbeast Raiders are designed to hunt your enemy, while the Maulbeast Cavalry are a heavy cavalry unit, designed to smash through their lines. There's also a ranged unit, with the Hunters with Sabrefangs not only being very thematic, but adding heavy crossbows to the arsenal. Cute kitties too! Notice the standard Ogors helmet this time appearing in leather - a really clever touch for a lighter unit. Last but not least it's the unit that looks like something out of Warcry, the Mantrapper who gives you accuracy and power in ranged combat.
Lastly in terms of minis is the Regiment of Renown, Okar’s Torrbad, which sports two of the older sets - a Huskard on Stonehorn and a Thundertusk Beastrider - but are still some of the best mounted kits GW have ever produced.
Lastly we have the Ogor Mawtribes Dice, which sport an icy look. Brrrr it's cold in here, there must be some Ogors in the atmosphere!!
In books this week we have the Galaxy in Flames in the Already-Sold-Out-Premium Edition and Hardback. There's also False Gods in Paperback. I have to admit I'm not too sure why GW are reprinting these every year. Just leave them in print! We also have the new Blood of the Godeater in Hardback, and a brand new Witch Hunters: The Omnibus (in paperback) with includes the novella City of Secrets, the novels Callis & Toll: The Silver Shard, Hallowed Ground, and Temple of Silence, plus the short stories Callis & Toll: The Old Ways, The Interrogator, The Orphan of Pale Harbour, and Shadowglass Creek.

The glorious skied excess of Chaos returns to Warhammer: The Old World this week with new miniatures, and new Arcane Journal, and some new Battle March boxed sets!
Let's start with the dragon in the room though, and that is the inclusion of the Lord on Chaos Dragon in the Sunday Preview from last week, and it not being in the pre-orders this weekend. Is this not available in Australia and New Zealand or did something go terribly awry in the Warp? Either way, it's a cool HUGE miniature and if you're lucky it's turned up on your local pre-orders this weekend.  
So why more Chaos? Well, solo traveller, the brand new Arcane Journal: The March of Chaos expansion for Warhammer: The Old World is here and being that it's named after them, we finally get to see the new Warriors of Chaos miniatures closer up. But first, this new book allows your Wizards to become so powerful that they (you) can create your own Champions of the Ruinous Powers, plus there's new rules for Chaos Marauders, Chaos Warriors, and Chaos Knights. Yummy!! Excitingly there's also a new Army of Infamy which allows you to field Warriors of Chaos and Beastmen in one army. That seems like a no-brainer to us.
Happily the new Warriors of Chaos: Battle March Army box is also here for you to truly absorb yourself in the bloody goodness that is Chaos. It includes 8 x new Chaos Warriors, 4 x new Chaos Knights, a very overused Sorcerer of Chaos, 5 x new-ish Marauder Horsemen and 20 x new-ish Chaos Marauders. This is a great box - and with the designs of the Warriors of Chaos harking so heavily back to the old Chaos Warriors Regiment from 1998, this is a brilliant step back in time. But who will lead your mighty army? I'm glad you asked - for it is none other than the Champions of Chaos. This set gives you 2 x Champions of Chaos  - one mounted and one unmounted. The set is pretty flexible too, with 4 x different heads, 2 x different axes or a mace for the right hands, and a battle standard, holding a severed head, or a hand clenched into a fist for the left hand. You like the Warriors of Chaos: Battle March Army set but want to start smaller - then you're in luck because the Chaos Warriors (16 burly spiky Love Gods) and the Chaos Knights (8 horsemen with an astounding 24 heads alternative heads) are here for you!  
In the blue corner for this battle royale, meanwhile is the Armies of Grand Cathay: Battle March Army Set. This comes with a Shugengan Lord on Great Spirit Longma, 20 x Jade Warriors, 5 x Jade Lancers, 6 x Iron Hail Gunners and 4 x Crane Gunners. All great miniatures worth of your paintbrush and your love!
Magic plays a bit part in Warhammer: The Old World, so strap in for the Arcane Magic Ploys Card Pack, which will apparently "allow you to easily generate a set of Arcane Magic Ploys before each battle, granting you new tricks and powers to tip the scales in your favour". [Insert expressive magic hands!!]
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Blood Bowl is back, this time with a new version of the game - it's called Sevens and is touted to be the new, smaller but just-as-brutal version of Blood Bowl - and it's launched right here in Blood Bowl Spike! Journal Issue 22. This issue contains all the info on Blood Bowl Sevens, the new rules, Pro Playbook which gives expert tips and tricks about the new format, plus all the usual mad-cappery of Spike! 
With a new format comes new rules and of course ​the Sevens Pitch: Double-sided Pitch and Dugouts which contains a double-sided fold-out Blood Bowl Sevens pitch. 
​The new game attracts big players and few are as big as Morg 'n' Thorg which, in his new plastic form, includes options for Imperial heraldry, a Badlands aesthetic, or a Chaos-themed look, with alternative heads, belt plates, kneepads, shoulder armour, hand weapons, and left hand options. He's not the only one to play for various teams, with the new plastic Minotaur ready to play for your Chaos Chosen, Chaos Renegades, or Chaos Dwarfs teams. He also comes with all sorts of bits to make him match which ever Chaos team you want him to play for.
Also this week, the new Skaven player, the Rat Ogre is here - he's less flashy, but nowhere less deadly.
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In books this week we have the Limited Edition of Bjorn: The Fell-handed in hardback (don't bother it's already sold out).

​Well, it's quite the weekend, with a tonne of minis for Horus Heresy, Kill Team, and Warhammer 40K. It's one of those weeks where knowing who gets priority becomes a bit of a challenge. But, coming from the dim distant past, it has to be the Aeldari Exodites first up, surely!
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Not only do we have a new Kill Team box this week, but it seems that "Kill Team" is now "Kill Team™" - at least in Games Workshop-land, but not here, fear not! So who are the Aeldari Exodites? They are the cool Aeldari, the ones who ride dinosaurs! Sure there's more lore to it, but that's the main take away. This new Kill Team: Exodite box gives you an Exodite Dragon Master Clanblade, an Exodite Dragon Master Leystalker, an Exodite Dragon Master Stonesinger, and 2 x Exodite Drakolithe. If you're using these guys for Warhammer 40K, then Exodite Dragon Master Clanblade, Leystalker, and Stonesinger can also be built as Exodite Dragon Knights. The adversaries in this box are 10 x Beast Snagga Boyz and 5 x Squighog Boyz - the Orks that don't seem to get much love! The box also includes a hardcover 128-page Kill Team: Exodite "dossier" (maybe this is the new word for mini-Codex), Exodite tokens, the Exodite Dragon Master datacards, Exodite mission pack cards and 10 x universal equipment cards. This box will sell out straight away and is only available for a limited time, so if you want it now and not in a few months, then jump on this when the pre-orders go up in your neck of the woods.
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Horus Heresy gets some reinforcements this week, with not only some new weapons, but also the two MKIV Space Marine sets! The new weapon set is the Legiones Astartes Combi-weapons & Shotgun Upgrades, which gives you 2 x single handed combi-meltas, combi-plasmas, combi-volkites, combi-flamers, and for the first time Astartes shotguns. Not having two hands moulded onto them is meant for Breachers, but it's also good for officers or characters who hold these weapons single-handed. Also in the set are 10 x combi-meltas, combi-plasmas, combi-volkites, combi-flamers, and Astartes shotguns., which do have the two hands moulded onto them - so are for your firing line dudes. The set also comes with 60 "belt-mounted" pouches, which is nice for some added chunkiness on your troops. Despite the shotguns being drum-magged, we don't get a single drum-mag pouch though, so that's a lost opportunity. I have to admit that these were very much on my radar, in fact all of our radars, but these are a bit of a miss in our books. Most of the combis are fine, but the combi-volkite is a miss, and what's with the top-fed magazine? It looks terrible. Now this is how you make a combi-Volkite - the original Beardy Hammer design from eight years ago: https://www.ozdestro.com/beardy-hammer-blog/making-a-combi-volkite. Meanwhile we have the new upscaled MkIV Tactical Squad and MkIV Assault Squad also on pre-order this week. The MkIV Assault Squad is exciting for the addition of 10 x power lances. These sets first appeared in the Legiones Astartes: Maximus Battle Group, which is still available and excellent value once you price these two squads minus the vehicles in the Legiones Astartes: Maximus Battle Group.
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Back to Kill Team for a minute, with some of the more recent or hard to find Kill Teams re-boxed and back for whatever limited time they're around for. We have the excellent Spectre Squad and Kasrkin for Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy Breachers, the very cool Adeptus Arbites Exaction Squad, fan-favourite Kroot Farstalkers, the Chaos Fellgor Beastmen, plus we have the Spectre Squad Datacards also on pre-order this weekend too.
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As if that wasn't all enough we have brand new battlefield terrain, this time from Battlefield Armageddon! There's the Galvanic Network, Capacitor Cluster, and Manufactorum Ruins - the latter sure to be very popular as they are perfectly suited to 11th Edition Warhammer 40K.
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We've heard that the Baneblade is on the way out, but this week either Games Workshop are proving us wrong or selling off their stock because the Warhammer 40K behemoth that is the Baneblade is here and ready for your pile of shame! I WANT ONE!! There's also the reappearance of the Baneblade Sponsons & Accessories, which is sure to be popular too.
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In books this week we have the Guard-themed The Relentless Dead and Mechanicus-themed Archmagos in paperback. 

There's a fun update for Legions Imperialis and Adeptus Titanicus this weekend (sadly delayed in Japan), with the pre-orders for new Titan weapons, plus three new Legions Imperialis Titan reboxes. The weapons sets are all in plastic, but don't expect a price reduction from the older resin ones, with the Reaver Titan Weapons: Graviton Obliterator, Volkite Annihilator, Vulcan Mega-Bolter, and Conversion Beam Dissolutor, ​Warlord Titan Weapons: Volkite Destructor, Macro-Gatling Blaster, Graviton Ruinator, and Vulcan Mega-Bolter Array, and Warlord Titan Weapons: Quake Cannon, Conversion Beam Extirpator, Paired Gatling Blasters, and Paired Turbo-Laser Destructors all going for $90 AUD per set. The new Titan sets include the Legions Imperialis: Reaver Titan with Graviton Obliterator and Volkite Annihilator, Legions Imperialis: Warlord Titan with Volkite Destructor and Macro-Gatling Blaster, and the Legions Imperialis: Warlord Titan with Quake Cannon and Conversion Beam Extirpator. It's always great to see more Volkite making it's way onto Titans, especially in the world of the Horus Heresy. BIG CHOOM!!
​We've also got some Made to Order Middle-earth this weekend (because why not?) with the metal Classic Uruk-hai Commanders 1, Classic Uruk-hai Commanders 2, Classic Uruk-hai Scouts, Classic Uruk-hai Battering Ram, and Classic Rohan Commanders up for order. It's a shame these haven't just been replaced with plastic sets so we can stop have interminable Made to Order LOTR, but considering these were originally all sculpted by hand (mostly by the Perry Twins at least in the early days), relegating them to the dustbin of history is a bit sad!
In books this week we have the Limited Edition Mephiston: The Box Set, which includes Darius Hinks' Blood of Sanguinius, Revenant Crusade, and City of Light novels. The set comes signed by the author, with Leather-effect covers and gold foil details etc etc. You know the drill! The other book this week is the Warhammer World: Nottingham UK: Book of Dioramas – Fifth Edition. In the past these haven't really been amazing, with photos not really getting close to show great detail. In reality these books really should show the dioramas in progress, the converted minis, how they built the buildings and the things that really open the imagination. Here's hoping this one is at least heading in that direction. 
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Missing from Australia and New Zealand this week is the big miniature release; Warhammer Age of Sigmar – Ogor Mawtribes Army Set. This sees a major update to what were a pretty quality-sporadic range of minis. Now, looking over the new minis in this set and the previews we have of some upcoming miniatures, the Ogor Mawtribes now pack in the detail and fearsome nature we read about in the lore. This Army Set includes a Tyrant, 2 x Maulbeast Cavalry, 3 x Ironguts, and 10 x Gluttons, plus the new rules and background in an exclusive cover variant of the Battletome: Ogor Mawtribes included in this set. It's a brilliant set, and incredibly tempting. Seeing what the Community is going to do with this is so exciting! I would not complain if Games Workshop decided to send me one (it's nearly my birthday) hahaha :D  

With the new edition here, it's time to bring new people in, update the regulars and provide the Beardies with something to grumble about. We're all Beardies here - slow your roll!
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The big starter set, far from stretching the imagination of the Games Workshop team is called Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set - up all night with that one! It includes the softcover 88-page Core Rules booklet, a softcover Starter Set Handbook all about the hobby, 2 x  double-sided Reference Sheets (army rules, stratagems, enhancements and data sheets for Combat Patrol games), and the miniatures. The minis include 2 complete push-fit Combat Patrols - one Space Marine and one Ork! There are 13 x Space Marines (a Captain with Relic Shield, Librarian, 5 x Intercessors, 5 x Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs and a Land Speeder). There are 33 x Orks (a Warboss, Weirdboy, 20 x Ork Boyz, 10 x Gretchin, and a Wartrakk). There's also plastic push-fit terrain in this set - which I thought was going to be the pre-painted versions, but it's not listed as such, so maybe not. You get 4 x large Manufactorum Ruins, 4 x small Manufactorum Ruins, a Shock Array, Capacitor Stack, 2 x Rockcrete Barricades, a Generator Shrine, and 2 x Galvanic Pylons. There's also 2 foldout cardboard game boards, 2 range rulers, and 10 dice. It's basically a cut down version of the Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon boxed set that launched 11th Edition, but for the same price! If you got the rules online and bought Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon, you would be getting more minis - minus the terrain - so decide what's a better deal for you. 

The Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set, is the Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set, but even smaller. It includes only 12 multipart plastic push-fit miniatures (a Space Marine Lieutenant & 5 x Intercessors, vs. an Ork Nob & 5 x Ork Boyz). This set, however, concentrates more on the hobby rather than the gaming side, with a softcover 48-page handbook, double-sided cardboard playing mat, cardboard terrain, a Warhammer Colour Starter Brush, a transparent plastic range ruler, 6 x D6 dice, and paints (Abaddon Black, Macragge Blue, Mournfang Brown, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, and Orruk Flesh).
 
Now we have two hobby sets which are interesting in that they help you get started with a faction, whether you play 40K already or not. Warhammer 40,000 Getting Started with Space Marines includes 13 push-fit Space Marines (Captain with Relic Shield, Librarian, 5 x Intercessors, 5 x Vanguard Veterans, and a Land Speeder). It also comes with a softcover 36-page Introductory Booklet, Warhammer Colour Starter Brush, a Texture Spreader and paints (Abaddon Black, Macragge Blue, Mournfang Brown, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, Corax White, Mephiston Red, Wraithbone, Dawnstone, Nuln Oil, and the Astrogranite Texture Paint). Meanwhile the ​Warhammer 40,000 Getting Started with Orks includes 33 x push-fit Ork miniatures (Warboss, Weirdboy, 20 x Ork Boyz, 10 x Gretchin and a Wartrakk), plus the softcover 44-page Introductory Booklet, Warhammer Colour Starter Brush and Texture Spreader. The paints include Abaddon Black, Orruk Flesh, Runelord Brass, Leadbelcher, Zandri Dust, Wraithbone, Mephiston Red, Mournfang Brown, Dawnstone, Agrax Earthshade, and Armageddon Dust Texture Paint.
It's not entirely clear who these sets are for - maybe someone starting out with a faction - maybe someone wanting to get the new minis into their existing faction...? It's a bit strange considering how unbalanced the amount of minis in each set and what's missing from the Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon box that could have been included. Why didn't they just put the entire contents of each faction in these sets and leave the paints out? It would have been much more popular and had the bonus of add-on paint sales.  

Speaking of paint, we have new versions of the sets designed for people just starting the hobby. Space Marines: Intercessors + Paints includes 2 x multipart plastic Space Marines Intercessor miniatures with 6 x Warhammer paints (Abaddon Black, Macragge Blue, Mournfang Brown, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, and Corax White). The Orks: Boyz + Paints is similar, with 3 push-fit Orks - 2 x Ork Boyz and 1 x Gretchin - and 6 paints (Abaddon Black, Orruk Flesh, Mournfang Brown, Leadbelcher, Zandri Dust, and Corax White). Interesting it's Corax White and not a yellow to make skin highlights mixed into Orruk Flesh.

But wait, there's more, with the new Warhammer 40,000: Paint + Tools set, which includes Abaddon Black, Orruk Flesh, Averland Sunset (there's that Ork skin highlight colour), Macragge Blue, Mournfang Brown, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, Corax White, Mephiston Red, Rakarth Flesh, Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade, and Armageddon Dust Texture Paint. Interesting there's no Nuln Oil. It also includes a Warhammer Colour Starter Brush, Warhammer Colour Starter Set Clippers and a mouldline scraper.

In books we have Ghosts of Cadia in Hardback and Special Edition (which does actually look really nice), Longshot in Hardback and the Blood Angels-themed ​The Devastation of Baal in Hardback.
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Not sure if anyone else is feeling it, but the launch of 11th edition seems to be the most copy-paste boring launch of an edition that I can think of. Maybe it's just us, but there's no personality to this edition, the miniature are incredibly plain and almost like knock-off versions of Games Workshop miniatures. The Space Marine Ancient is really nice, and the Captain and Librarian are fine, but the rest - including the entire Ork range - is just so ordinary and lacking in any anything. Bland, stale, cookie-cutter stuff.
Let us know if you disagree!  

Games Workshop have none-too-subtly launched the second edition of Warhammer: The Old World, by not technically saying "new edition" but having everything that constitutes a new edition. First clue it's a new edition is a new Core Set, and this time it's the Warhammer: The Old World – Fantasy Battles In the World of Legend Core Set (quite a mouthful!). Happily this set brings together one of (if not THE) classic factions, and the newest, all in one box to create what is a great looking set! In one corner we have the fabled, famed, glorious Warriors of Chaos which includes an Aspiring Champion on a Daemonic Mount, Aspiring Champion with Battle Standard, 16 x Chaos Warriors and 4 x Chaos Knights. Personally we're really hoping these don't replace the current Age of $igmar Chaos Warriors, because these newer Old World ones aren't really hitting home. The horses are excellent and based on a much older Chaos Mount from decades ago, in fact looking closer at these new plastic Chaos Warriors I can't help but notice there are some real similarities to the Chaos Warriors Regiment from 1998, especially in the helmets and shoulders, even some of the weapon poses. Maybe the designers took influence from a previous multi-part multi-pose Warhammer kit that was also able to be ranked - either way, these guys are a little hit and miss, apart from the Champions and Standard Bearer which are absolutely spectacular! The opposing side are the Armies of Grand Cathay - a truly spectacular force with some amazing models. In this set you get a Gate Keeper on a Cathayan Warhorse, Gate Keeper with Battle Standard, 20 x Jade Warriors, 5 x Jade Lancers and a Cathayan Grand Cannon with Ogre Loader and 3 Crew. All of these are excellent and really should be loved by everyone. The details, the different cultural references from China, Korea and Japan, even Mongolian have been so lovingly added mixed together. Can not wait to see the Tiger Warriors coming for this faction soon. The rest of the box is a full hardcover 352-page Warhammer: The Old World Rulebook, with rules updates etc (also available separately this week), army lists for the Warriors of Chaos and the Armies of Grand Cathay, a double-sided folding playmat, double-sided rules reference sheets, 3 x plastic templates, a foldable 12" range ruler and white dice with black pips, including 18 six-sided dice, 1 artillery dice, and 1 scatter dice. This is a great set to split with a friend or family member so you both get started with a faction. Also this week in Warhammer: The Old World, we have the new Warhammer: The Old World Rulebook which is touted as a "revised edition" and includes rule clarifications from the online errata and FAQs, plus it has the the Core Rules for Battle March. And speaking of, let's have a look at the Warhammer: The Old World – Battle March: General's Companion. This is an expansion book built around the narrative campaign fought within the Axe Bite Pass and allows you to play smaller-scale Battle March games including leading leading raiding parties, vanguards, and outriders. What's really interesting is that this book is Armies of Grand Cathay vs Orcs, which makes us wonder if the new Orcs aren't ready and were meant to be the opposing army in the new edition launch box. With this "revised edition" comes the new Lores of Magic Reference Card Pack which gives you cards to help you keep track of your spells, and the Common Magic Items Reference Card Pack which allows you to keep an inventory of your common magic items. Man, I love Warhammer: The Old World so much! I wish I had the time and energy to build a force!!! 
Moving into another Fantasy realm, we have some new additions to the world of Tolkien with the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game: The Burning of the Westfold. This new expansion provides a linked campaign of 11 Narrative Scenarios, set in the world of The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy. The book also gives you some hobby advice on how to create settlements using the Rohan House kit, a painting guide for horses, and a terrain hobby tutorial for creating the Plains of Rohan and the Fords of Isen. With this release we get some new plastic Middle-earth minis as well, including the spectacular Warriors of Rohan Commanders and Riders of Rohan, plus their sworn adversaries, the Hill Tribesmen Commanders. Premium pricing on these guys, so be aware!
There's some classic metal Made to Order this week with one of the best minis GW has ever produced, the Classic Mercenary Ogre Captain, the very old school Classic Mercenary Ogres with Hand Weapons and another absolute classic, the Classic Mercenary Ogres with Great Weapons, the more-recent and very nice ​Orc Raiders, plus old school cuteness, the Baby Dragons. Also in this small Made to Order wave is the multipart metal and plastic Baggage Train Carts kit - massive kudos to whomever painted one of these horses to look like Donkey from Shrek. Honestly, high five for the sense of humour!
In books this week we have Flames of Betrayal omnibus in paperback, which includes the novella Garro: Knight of Grey, and the short stories Angels of Another Age, Fulgurite, Fragments (All We Have Left), Ex Libris, System Purge, After the Dawn, the Darkness, Homebound, and The Carrion Lord of the Imperium.
It's also a White Dwarf week, with issue 526 also including a Blood Ravens Transfer Sheet.

Are you tired of the same old battlefields? Those flat plains, wrecked buildings - they're pretty same-old same-old, right? Well there is another way to play, especially in the Horus Heresy, and it's called Zone Mortalis! Contested inside starship corridors, breached fortresses or even packed urban settings, Zone Mortalis is urban warfare on a new level, and has been a mainstay of the Horus Heresy community for decades. Well this week the new Journal Tactica: Zone Mortalis goes up for pre-order and is packed with core and special rules for how to play on and around the terrain that personifies Zone Mortalis, plus rules for Zone Mortalis Reserves, Advanced Reactions, and Cogitator Terminals. There's also six new missions along with new Primary and Secondary Objectives, Primary Detachments, and maps, and - most excitingly - new profiles for Veteran Breacher Squads, Veteran Despoiler Squads, Veletaris Raider Sections, Auxilia Combat Technician Sections, and the Castellax Infernus Maniple. A great new addition to this edition of Horus Heresy and a must-have for those who enjoy making terrain! To accompany the new Journal Tactica, there is also a brand new Legiones Astartes: Maximus Battle Group, and by "Maximus" we mean Mk IV Space Marines! Returning after being slightly reconfigured for the larger scale of Horus Heresy, this box gives you 20 x Mk IV Tactical Legionaries, 10 x Mk IV Assault Legionaries (yes that's right, JUMP PACKS!), a Sicaran Battle Tank and a Contemptor Dreadnought. Talk about reinforcements, this is a very exciting box! The other new Horus Heresy treasure this week is the much-awaited Whirlwind Missile Tank, and happily it's in it's original White Dwarf 118 boxed launcher configuration. Awesome to see!!  
Moving onto Warhammer 40K, we have some Imperial Guard reinforcements on pre-order this week too, with Ciaphas Cain back on the battlefield! Packed with character, Ciaphas Cain and his trusty pal Jurgen, are both brilliant miniatures and sure to be popular. The other exciting Imperial Guard releases this week are the Hippogriff AFV and Centaur RSV - ripped straight from the pages of World War 2, these vehicles add extra light armour and transport to your Guard units. Are they original designs? NO! Should they be? Probably yes! The Centaur comes with crew and some configuration options, while the Hippogriff has op0tions for the main gun, including a vigilator cannon, Chiron gatling cannon, melta cannon, or heavy lascannon. 
This week also sees four new Battleforces on pre-order, with the Battleforce: Astra Militarum Platoon sporting a Commissar, 5 x Cadian Command Squad miniatures, 2 x Field Ordnance Teams, a Rogal Dorn Battle Tank, a Basilisk (God this model is old!) and 10 x Cadian Shock Troops. The Battleforce: Chaos Space Marines Warband includes a Lord Discordant on Helstalker, 2 x Obliterators, a Venomcrawler, 10 x Legionaries and 20 x Chaos Cultists. The Battleforce: Necron Host is an interesting one and well worth your attention, with a Catacomb Command Barge/ Annihilation Barge, a Canoptek Doomstalker, 3 x Ophydian Destroyers, 5 x Flayed Ones, 20 x Necron Warriors and 6 x Canoptek Scarab Swarms. The Battleforce: Tyranid Swarm is a nightmare on legs, with a Hive Tyrant/ Winged Hive Tyrant/ Swarmlord, a Lictor, 3 x Tyranid Warriors, 3 x Von Ryan's Leapers, 10 x Hormagaunts, 10 x Termagants and 2 x Ripper Swarms.
In books this week we once again have the The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (is this V.20?), the original Space Marines vs Orks battle but in narrative form with the Rynn's World Special Edition, the Illustrated and Annotated Edition Hardback of For the Emperor, plus Vagabond Squadron, Krakenblood, and Starseer's Ruin all in paperback. 
There's some merch this week with the Valhallan Regimental Banner. It's 42cm x 60cm so it's not going to take up too much room, but probably neat for Guard players.
It's also a White Dwarf week with Issue 525 coming to your local store very soon.

​First up it should be stated that pretty much all this week’s pre-orders are delayed in Japan and South Korea.
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It’s a sad day when a God falls from grace – their once perfect visage marred, their brilliant sheen tainted, but alas it has happened. Slaanesh has fallen!
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This week Slaanesh, The Dark Prince, She Who Thirsts, gets their new Battletome for Age of $igmar. With updated unit profiles, the odd new character and probably less lore than last time, the Chaos Battletome: Hedonites of Slaanesh is available in Glitter and Blades Gamer's Edition or Buff Me Up, it’s Party Time Standard Editon. The Gamer’s Edition includes a bonus of 28 Warscroll cards, 12 x Spearhead cards, 4 x Army of Renown cards, 2 x Regiment of Renown cards and 5 x Faction Rules cards. Unfortunately it’s at this point where we hit a bump in the road, and the afore-mentioned glory of Slaanesh meets the Lord of Hysteria. Is it called the Lord of Hysteria because it’s so dumb looking? Because this miniature is anything but perfect – confused, lost, ungainly, impossible – yes!! There’s some nice elements here but they just don’t meld. Now when it comes to the rest of the release they are pretty sad rehashes, with the Battleforce: Hedonites of Slaanesh – The Decadent Host featuring Sigvald, the perky-butted Prince of Slaanesh, 5 x Slickblade Seekers/ Blissbarb Seekers, 5 x Myrmidesh Painbringers/ Symbaresh Twinsouls (great lore but not at all explored), 11 x Blissbarb Archers (with accompanying Blissbrew Homonculus) and 3 x Slaangor Fiendbloods. The new Spearhead: Hedonites of Slaanesh – Epicurean Revellers is the Thricefold Discord, 3 x Fiends, 20 x Daemonettes and 5 x Seekers. Regiment of Renown: The Accursed Reflection is a series of magical constructs, including the Contorted Epitome, Wheels of Excruciation, Mesmerising Mirror and Dreadful Visage. Meanwhile the Thricefold Discord is once again around, maybe because no one wants them, featuring three demonic entities ( I do wonder if these guys were split and sold as generals if they would do better. I like two of them!). As per a new release for a new edition, there are the Warscroll Cards: Hedonites of Slaanesh and the Hedonites of Slaanesh Dice.
We’ve also got a couple of nice Skaven units this weekend – both excellent example of the Skaven diaspora, with Deathmaster Crixxit and the Gutter Runners up for pre-order. These are both quintessential Skaven units, dynamically rendered.
Apart from Slaanesh, the big release this week would be the General's Handbook 2026-27 which comes in two editions - Warlord and Standard – and is the official way to play competitive games of Age of $igmar, using the current meta in the current narrative. The core of the set is the 72 page book, bringing you the latest narrative events in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, the Matched Play Battlepack 2026-27 including a campaign system, Rules for Battle Tactics, blank army rosters and tournament scoring sheets, and 12 x brand-new Matched Play battleplans. There’s also the Age of $igmar Core Rules, plus Advanced Rules for applying to Matched Play battlepacks, including Commands, Terrain, Magic, Army Composition, and Command Models. There’s also 1 x deck of battlepack cards and 6 x “objective mats”. The Warlord Edition includes all the above, plus a cardboard game tracker board, 25 tokens for the game tracker, and a wee bag. 
The last miniature related item today is the Spearhead: City of Ash Gaming Pack (honestly, these names are getting out of control), which includes – the Spearhead: City of Ash booklet (it’s only 24-pages) for the rules to Spearhead, a Double-sided game board, 2 x Multipart plastic pieces of terrain (the main drawcard as this is really nicely detailed) and 5 x Relic objectives. There’s also 36 x Spearhead cards. 
For some reason, we are republishing the Horus Heresy series of books, starting with Horus Rising in paperback and the second book, False Gods in hardback and the once fought-for 
Premium Edition. Will they do all 50+ books? Who knows…
The hardback version of Gloomspite is also on pre-order this week, and probably sold out!

With the  Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon boxed set going on pre-order last week, and a lot of material going up on the Warhammer Community website, this week we get the officially branded physical rule tools to get your lads and lasses on the tabletop.
First up we have the Warhammer 40,000: Core Rules which is only 88-pages and just in softcover (for now I bet), but does contain the new rules, the various game phases, tools, plus "an introduction to the reference materials found in the Warhammer 40,000 App" - no clue what that means!
The Warhammer 40,000: Combat Patrol Companion
takes you through the skirmish version of 40K, Combat Patrol, and aims at your more beginner hobbyist with some hobby material, playing Combat Patrol, some lore, etc etc. We see this each edition, this is just the newer one.
We also have two decks - the Dominatus – Narrative Campaign Deck which allows you to field larger narrative missions and the Chapter Approved 2026-27: Mission Deck which is a set of cards based around a wider mission set sequence to follow, from Deployment, Force Disposition, Primary Mission, Secondary Mission, etc etc. Plus six cardboard Operation Markers... party time!
New this year, and getting a bit of side-eye is the Warhammer 40,000: Terrain Area Set, a series of cardboard terrain footprints that are designed to match building types and the look of the the game boards you'll find in the Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set and Combat Patrol Terrain Set Battlezone. I am constantly blown away that people buy these - and they're sold out!
In books this week we have the Special Edition version of Armageddon: Season of Fire, and some much-anticipated paperbacks of The Remnant Blade, Tomb World, and Voidscarred.

It only seems like last week we had Indomitus, then Leviathan, and now Armageddon - Games Workshop seem to be dropping new editions of Warhammer 40,000 like it's going out of style! So much so that we're up to Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition, and this week sees the launch by Games Workshop of the Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon box, following what has been a fairly lacklustre build-up, mainly involving some of the most boring videos ever created - absolutely zero enthusiasm from anyone involved!     
SO what's in this Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon box you ask? We have sixty one new multipart (YAY!) plastic (YAY!) push-fit (urgh, yuck!!) miniatures, giving you 23 x Space Marines
led by a Captain with Relic Shield, a Librarian, a Chaplain with Jump Pack and a new dynamic Ancient with banner. Your troops are 10 x new Intercessors who, despite promises, look exactly like every other boring Primaris model - which is a huge shame because the tweaks that have been made to Primaris (see the Space Wolves set) were really interesting! It's also very disappointing to have these constantly pushed forward as being amazing - me thinks they are overselling something they know is pretty poor. On the other end of the spectrum we have the 5 x new Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs, excitingly sporting the Crux Terminatus for the first time on power armour in many years. These are dynamic and great additions to anyone's force. We also have 3 x Eradicators with Heavy Bolters in suitably strong poses, though not really exciting. The vehicle is a newly reimagined Land Speeder with a multi-melta, onslaught gatling cannon/ heavy flamer, and a stormfury missile launcher, which is nice to see this in a smaller format than the previous one. On the other end of the battlefield there are thirty eight Orks led by a large Warboss, a Bannernob, a Bigboss, Painboy and a Weirdboy - something for all the Ork players there! Your troops are 20 x Ork Boyz, and 10 x Gretchin, and these aren't your traditional push-fit single option minis, there is some customisability with torsos and head swaps possible. The Orks have two vehicles - the Wartrakk and a very cool Big Mek Dakkarig! 
Aside from miniatures we also have the hardcover Armageddon: Operation Imperator book which gives you the forces at play and what's going on, plus we have the softcover Core Rules booklet, the Chapter Approved 2026-27: Mission Deck, the Dominatus Narrative Campaign Deck, Armageddon Datasheet Cards for every unit contained within this box, and the Armageddon Transfer Sheet with markings for both Marines and Orks. 
That's it - that's the launch box. What do you think? We're pretty underwhelmed, but there are some good bits, just not $500 AUD worth!
In books we have the Armageddon: Season of Fire narrative novel in hardback, plus next week sees the release of White Dwarf 524.

Hive! It's a book, well actually it's two books from fan-favourite Dan Abnett set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It's also a story we don't get to see that much, and that's one set around the Adeptus Arbites - those stalwart defenders (thugs) who defend the interest of the Imperium across untold worlds. They're not your regular beat-cop, Enforcers or Planetary Defence Forces aligned a Planetary Governor (or crime syndicate or both) - these guys have power. They are judge, jury and executioner, loyal to the Imperium and only the Imperium... or so the story goes. Dan Abnett picks it up from there in the two volume story Hive. It's available in two versions, the Premium Edition and the Hardback, and being Print on Demand, if you order before the second week in June, you will get a copy... in December! Abnett is a great writer, so it's undoubtedly worth the wait, plus we might get some political machinations and brutal crackdown on dissidents in the mix too!
This week is also a White Dwarf week, with Issue 524 available from the 12th of June.  

The Horus Heresy is an era of total war! Massive armies of armoured combatants engaging in plant-wide conflict with untold levels of destruction. In the history of Man (or at least the history not forgotten, missing or redacted), conflict has never been this deadly, cruel or destructive. With God Engines walking freely amongst this carnage, the Falchion Super-heavy Tank Destroyer is the sort of behemoth that one brings to the table when it's time to put a full stop to your enemy's path of wanton destruction. Mounting the Neutron-wave Cannon, the Falchion Super-heavy Tank Destroyer can destroy, or at least badly maul, any enemy vehicle - including the towering Titans of the Mechanicum! The Falchion supplements the primary armament with a choice of lascannon arrays, laser destroyers, or infantry-shredding gravis heavy bolter batteries, making this man-made beast a true tide- turner when you need it most. Want to make a Mechanicum player worry? Bring this!
Not to be outdone in terms of armament, but this time sporting 26 Space Marines in it's cavernous belly, the Spartan Prometheus Assault Tank is a Land Raider on steroids, this time sporting either laser destroyers or gravis heavy bolter batteries on the side sponsons or twin heavy bolters, a twin heavy flamer, or twin lascannons on the front hull mount. We've seen the Spartan before (and maybe one day this will be one kit instead of two), but this one is fast, angrier and full of troops, this is a must-have for larger games of Horus Heresy! 

The original Cities of $igmar releases were greeted with much excitement, but since then have seemed to die off, with no real buzz. But this week Cities of $igmar is back ​with a much more defined look, and new forces to add much-needed guts to the army. The releases are spearheaded by the new Order Battletome: Cities of $igmar, which comes in Shining Golden God Gamer's Edition and Iron Boomstick Standard Edition. It's not just foot-sloggers, because Cities of $igmar has a very odd side, none more so than Erasmus Zonn the Enlightened One who comes mounted on a Glyphwing - which is basically a giant white chicken goat. Honestly, someone at Games Workshop is designing these things in a fever dream! Though wouldn't it be cool if Erasmus Zonn WAS the chicken goat and he just had a buddy who rode around on his back... We also have a new hero, Jorvan Kreel, Heir of the Kraken who roams the countryside with a cool ash panther (who wouldn't want one of those?). There's also the new Mallus Forgepriest brining body positivity and representation back to Warhammer, an amazing new Aqshian Pyrocaster and old ding-dong skull, Amethyst Knellmage (who is all kinds of weird/cool/ don't overthink it!). An absolute standout for us are the Freeguild Grenadiers who come with blackpowder weapons and bombs, but also these awesome two-handed axes. The helmets are cool, the capes are great, the poses are rad - these are a winner!! If you prefer your Fantasy with a more stabby vibe, then the Freeguild Gallants are for you. These foot knights add some heavy infantry to your ranks, and speaking of heavy... the Gate Gargants really make this week pop. Two giants with gate shield to hold defensive positions - and there's a lady giant too! Another standout in this release is the new Cannonade Cogfort / Conqueror Cogfort combi-kit which gives you a walking fortress gun platform - made with either a cannon or a realmscorcher flame cannon. This kit is a project and a half and looks like so much fun!! We also have some boxed sets, with the Regiment of Renown: Ven Denst's Hounds (which includes Galen ven Denst, Doralia ven Denst and 11 x Wildercorp Hunters), and the new Spearhead: Cities of Sigmar – Zenestra's Zealots with Pontifex Zenestra, Matriarch of the Great Wheel, a Freeguild Marshal, a Relic Envoy, 6 x Freeguild Command Corps and 10 x Freeguild Steelhelms. A great set!! In terrain there is the new Dawner's Triumph monument which includes the choice of two relics to put inside – "a remains coffer, or a skull on a plinth". As you'd expect the Warscroll Cards: Cities of Sigmar and the Cities of Sigmar Dice are also on pre-order this week too!
In Warhammer Underworlds news, we have the new Thyrielle's Zephyrites for the Lumineth Realmlords, which has Sirikith, Orieth, Anara, Thyrielle and Tzul - all dynamically posed and looking cool! Let's be fair though, is the Warhammer Underworlds brand worth continuing? This could just be a Regiment of Renown!

Now these dudes aren't the main show, but damn are they cool!! In Made to Order this week we have the metal ​Vostroyans - and they're so cool to see back! If these rolled out in plastic I think these would be very popular, but who knows if they ever will. Sadly these Made to Order minis are especially expensive, so hold onto your furry hats!!  On offer we have the ​Vostroyan Commander with Power Sword, Vostroyan Commander with Chainsword, Vostroyan Commander with Power Fist, Vostroyan Command (an absolute belter of a set), the Vostroyan Platoon, the Vostroyan Squad, Vostroyan Guardsmen with Sniper Rifles, Vostroyan Guardsman with Plasma Gun, Vostroyan Guardsman with Grenade Launcher, Vostroyan Guardsman with Flamer, Vostroyan Lascannon Team, Vostroyan Mortar Team and the Vostroyan Heavy Bolter Team.
This is to sort of flavour we need in 40k - stuff the boring Steel Legion - give me these guys!

Imperial Guard have been getting some big updates recently, and this new one comes in the new Kill Team: Terror on Devlan boxed set. Kill Team: Terror on Devlan features 10 x new Spectre Squad Kill Team operatives, which brings Las-Gun Carbines, Stubber weapons and a new rocket launcher into the Astra Militarum armoury - plus of course their funky cloaks. On the other side we have a Red Terror Nemesis Operative, 10 x Termagants and 1 x Ripper Swarm. The set comes with a 72-page Terror on Devlan Dossier, tokens, Mission Pack Cards and 40 x Spectre Squad datacards.
Like taking on big monsters? Well Kill Team also gets a new expansion, with Kill Team: Nemesis Operatives which includes an 80-page softcover book with background material about these new "Nemesis Operatives", a Nemesis Builder (please be like the old Rogue Trader random dice roll generator!), Mission Packs including Ambull and Archivist mission packs, 74 x Nemesis Operative cards,  and 6 blank dry-erase Nemesis Operatives datacards. 
To go with Kill Team: Nemesis Operatives there's also the re-release of the Zoat known as The Archivist and the fearsome Ambull.
Fresh from the last Kill Team boxed set we have the Kill Team: Murderwing - glorious Night Lords in their panoply of midnight hue! This Kill Team includes a Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, a Champion/Depredator/Raptor/Warp Talon, a Shrieker and Curseclaw (which can both be built as a Skysear, Raptor, or Warp Talon), a Skysear/ Raptor/ Warp Talon and a Huntmaster/ Raptor/ Warp Talon. There's also a set of Kill Team: Murderwing Datacards if you want to run them with their full abilities. 
Also from the last Kill Team set is Kill Team: Celestian Insidiants, starring a Superior, Denuncia, Censor, Reliquarius, Abjuror, Mortisanctus, and 2 x Cremators (all of which can also be built as Warriors), and 2 x Warriors. There's also the Kill Team: Celestian Insidiants Datacards as well. 
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++ Both Kill Team: Terror on Devlan and Kill Team: Nemesis Operatives SOLD OUT straight away in Australia and New Zealand - so if you're after them any time soon - best pre-order ASAP ++

The Horus Heresy adds a new expansion this week, with the Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn – Part One going up on pre-order. The 48-page softcover contains lore on the world of Tallarn, narrative missions, a Solar Auxilia Army List, rules for Command Tanks for the Solar Auxilia and Legiones Astartes. A long-awaited plastic release are the Charonite Ogryns. Previously available in resin, this new kit builds four Ogryns, with a really nice variety of customisable bits including two torsos for each, and two heads (masked or unmasked) and a choice of two faces. This looks like a great kit, even if the weapon options are limited. Horus Heresy also adds some new support platforms to the arsenal with the Rapier Fire Support Battery - allowing you to build a 'Thudd Gun' quad launchers or mole mortars - and the Rapier Direct Fire Battery - allowing you to build gravis heavy bolter batteries, laser destroyers, or multi-laser arrays. 
Warhammer: The Old World has new forces for Grand Cathay, including the new Astromancers of the Celestial Court set which includes two Astromancers – one mounted, and one on foot, plus an arcane Familiar. There's also two infantry units with the Iron Hail Gunners & Crane Gunner Teams - which builds twelve Iron Hail Gunners and eight Crane Gun Teams, plus the Peasant Levy, which has a tonne of customisation options including 24 x bare heads, 24 x straw hat heads, 20 x straw hats and 20 x arrow quivers.
In books this week, there's a new double novel hardback set from Dan Abnett. HIVE (already sold out) centres on the Adeptus Arbites enforcing Imperial law on a "sprawling hive planet amid scandals, cults, and much worse".
It's also a White Dwarf week with issue 523 on pre-order this week.

Armageddon, the fabled planet of war and strife has again appeared on the radar as Games Workshop struggle to find names for planets, but this time a fabled hero returns to fight to the good fight.
The new Warhammer 40,000 narrative campaign is Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick. And who is Yarrick you may ask? Well he's the greatest Commissar the Imperium has ever seen - able to lead men to extraordinary feats of glory while at the same time taking the mantle as a heroic fighter of Xenos. 
The narrative campaign begins here, in the pages of the Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick – War Without End (available in both Standard Edition and Collector's Edition). This series of books includes: Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick – An 80-page hardcover book with background on Armageddon, and the opposing forces. The second book is Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick – Armoured Gauntlet which provides "special rules for playing games with the largest and deadliest miniatures for each faction" - absolutely no idea what that means! The third book is Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick – Detachments 16-pages of new detachments for the Astra Militarum (Steel Hammer and Armoured Infantry), Orks (Speedwaaagh! and Blitz Brigade), and Space Marines (Armoured Speartip and Headhunter Task Force). Speaking of Yarrick, here's the brand new plastic Commissar Yarrick model. Yarrick might be old-hat, but Inquisitor Kroyle is the new Inquisitor on the block, and what a spectacular model he is. He's mounted on a Garralisk steed, and armed with the new Jindarii tox-cycler which fires venom-laced rounds. Imperial forces are supplemented by the Adepta Sororitas, spearheaded by their leader Intranzia Fraye – Dogmata Superior. What a great title, and mounted on an armed mechanical throne, she's quite the imposing miniature and a must-have for fans of the Adepta Sororitas! The final Imperial character release is Commissar Graves, who comes with their own custom Centaur RSV and retinue! Commissar Graves also comes dismounted in the kit too. The Orks come in waves, and leading the Speedwaaagh! is Wazdakka Gutsmek, mounted on his motorbike. It's an amazing looking model, and sure to be popular at Golden Demon time! There's four new Armageddon Battalions too, the first being for the Astra Militarum and includes two new vehicles. Armageddon Battalion: Astra Militarum comes with 2 x Hippogriff AFVs, a Centaur RSV, Rogal Dorn Battle Tank and 10 x Cadian Shock Troops. Each Hippogriff AFV can be mounted with one of 4 turret-mounted weapons and, like the Centaur, is heavily HEAVILY influenced by World War II armoured fighting vehicles. It's a bit of a shame really that they didn't do more of a spin on these rather than making them so similar - certainly when you look at Mortian's products you can see how nice these could have been. We mentioned the Adepta Sororitas before and they have a new Armageddon Battalion: Adepta Sororitas, which includes a Palatine, 3 x Paragon Warsuits, 9 x Sisters Repentia, a Repentia Superior, 9 x Sisters Novitiate and a Novitiate Superior. The sadly unloved Deathwatch get the Armageddon Battalion: Deathwatch (which we've seen dozens of times) with a Corvus Blackstar and 10 x Deathwatch Kill Team miniatures. Orks play the bad guys, so they have a Armageddon Battalion: Orks which includes a very mobile force with a Deffkilla Wartrike, a Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy and 6 x Deffkoptas.
​With this campaign we also have some dice for both Ghazghkull and Commissar Yarrick.
In books this week we have four omnibus, starting off with Legends of the Waaagh! in paperback, which includes the novels Caves of Ice and Helsreach, the I am Slaughter novella and the short stories The Only Good Ork, Ork Hunter, and One Hate.
With Yarrick back there's also the Yarrick: The Omnibus in paperback, with the novels Imperial Creed, and The Pyres of Armageddon, and the short stories Chains of Golgotha, A Plague of Saints, The Wreckage, Evil Eye, The Gallows Saint, Sacrificial, and Sarcophagus.
Sporting a particularly rad cover is Veterans of the Fall in paperback, which includes the short stories Tattershield, Tatters of Hope: Parts One - Five and the Veterans of the Fall novella.
Do you prefer stories from across the Warhammer 40K universe? Well World Ablaze in hardback is for you! It features the short stories Pursuit of Redemption, Riderz of da Storm, The White Horror, Good Enemy, Rok Crackers, Steel Mayhem, Fighting Blind, Ash and Steel, Ark of Salvation, Home Front, and Seasons of Woe.
We haven't seen Catachans for a very long time, but here they are in the 20th anniversary reprinting of Death World (Anniversary Edition).
There's also a Special Edition book out this week, and it's Da Freebooterz Code available in the afore mentioned Special Edition and Hardback.

As the Cities of Sigmar explore the Mortal Realms for the rare Emberstone, they must often fight for it - and this is the setting for the new Age of $igmar expansion, Spearhead: City of Ash. Packed with brand new minis, Spearhead: City of Ash pits the ​Freeguild Warriors of the Sentinels of Embergard against the Skaven assassins of Clans Eshin - a fan favourite and much-anticipated plastic release. The Sentinels of Embergard include their valiant leader Jorvan Kreel and his super-cool companion Thexa the Ash Panther, a Mallus Forgepriest, 5 x Freeguild Gallants Knights and a new Freeguild unit, 10 x Freeguild Grenadiers (each with a choice of helmeted or bare heads). These new Grenadiers can be armed with either a ranged weapon or a fearsome looking axe, which is sure to be a favourite. The poses and design of the Grenadiers is next level, really stepping up the Cities of Sigmar line infantry, who for the most part have a more ranked look to them. On the Skaven side we have Crixxit's Kill-Pack, led by Deathmaster Crixxit, a stand-by Deathmaster, 10 x Night Runners, 10 x Gutter Runners and 2 x Bomb Rats. Clans Eshin are death-that-creeps, the-living-shadows, blades-in-the-night - everything humans find so terrifying about Skaven - and to have new plastic minis is a fantastic update. Spearhead: City of Ash also comes with some really lovely plastic terrain, very thematic and of course the board and other play aids you'll need to fight this battle. Something to note is the amazing Cities of Sigmar Transfer Sheet which features markings for Hammerhal Aqsha, Hammerhal Ghyra, Tempest’s Eye, Vindicarum, The Living City, Misthåvn, Lethis, Excelsis, Hallowheart, Settler’s Gain, and Greywater Fastness. These would be amazing on Blackshields in The Horus Heresy!
Also on pre-order this week, and also from Age of $igmar is the new Battleforce: Ossiarch Bonereapers – Null Myriad Phalanx, which gives you Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament/ Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night/ Neferata, Mortarch of Blood, a Mortisan Soulmason, 4 x Morghast Archai/ Morghast Harbingers and 20x Mortek Guard. That's a hefty box there and a great way to start with the Ossiarch Bonereapers.
It's also a delayed-release of White Dwarf 522 for Australia and New Zealand, but this issue has a lot about the Badab Wars and the righteous actions of the so-called Space Pirates!