1. Warhammer 40K
2. Darkwater
3. Age of Sigmar
4. Other
The Warhammer World Championships dropped a deluge of new models on us over the weekend, and the community seems to be in agreement on a couple of points: that new T'au heroes are fantastic, and that the refreshed Nurgle Maggotkin are wonderfully disgusting. Considering how packed the show was (including Warhammer's latest foray into the best board games with Darkwater), this says a lot.
"Absolutely incredible release. So unsettling and gross," user shaolinoli says about the Age of Sigmar Maggotkin on Reddit. "Pestigors are very unsettling," agrees Raptor-ofChange9. At the other end of the scale, the Warhammer World Championship heroes – including new T'au battlesuits and a revised Titus model – are getting plenty of buzz over at the 40K subreddit. Indeed, Raccoonsrlilbandits sums it up with the simple but effective "The tau models look so good." Although I don't think they'll arrive in time for this year's Black Friday Warhammer deals, I'd definitely keep a close eye out because there's a good chance they'll drop before 2025 is through.
Naturally, those weren't the only reveals; this year's Warhammer World Championship stream was crammed with cool toys for fans of multiple games. To help get you up to speed, I've done a quick roundup of everything you need to know right here.
Warhammer 40K World Championship reveals
- Titus leads 500 Worlds narrative campaign
- Ultramarines under siege from Destroyer Necrons
- New heroes for Tau, Votann, Tyranids
It's the beginning of the end for the current edition of 40K, and as is tradition, an overarching narrative campaign will see it out. This one focuses on the 500 worlds of the Ultramarines, which come under siege from cursed Necrons. This conflict brings plenty of new heroes along with it.
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Titus and the 500 Worlds
The next narrative campaign takes us to the Ultramarines' home turf for an invasion of Necrons afflicted by the Destroyer curse. These crazed 'bots are led by the unhinged Nekrosor Ammentar, who is trying to reunite the shattered shards of a star god he can unleash on the galaxy. (And thanks to leaks that a shard of this star god will be available next year, I suspect he may come close.)
Fortunately, the 500 worlds of Ultramar aren't left undefended. A newly (re)promoted Captain Titus from Space Marine 2 is leading the defence, and he's got a new mini in honor of the occasion. I'd say this is leaps and bounds better than the previous one from a tie-in board game and the Character Encyclopedia (which you can usually find for a discount at Amazon) that got a… well, a mixed response. He leads a team of characters from the game on his crusade, so it's great news if you've been enjoying the Ultramarines revival of the last few weeks.
Battlesuits steal the spotlight from new champions
A clutch of new heroes have been revealed as part of the Warhammer World Championships, ranging from a Leagues of Votann warrior to a whip-wielding Tyranid Prime. However, the T'au Twin Lance models have thoroughly stolen the show. These two battlesuits are worn by Sunsear and Scatterflare, who specialize in hit-and-run close combat. Their minis are suitably dynamic, and the community seems to have fallen in love with them if Reddit is any indication.
It's unclear when these models will hit shelves, so keep an eye on the official Warhammer store or the likes of Miniature Market for pre-orders.
Warhammer Quest: Darkwater World Championship reveals
- Dungeon-crawling board game revealed
- Faster, more bite-size sessions
- A host of totally gross Nurgle foes
After leaks and numerous drip-feed reveals, we finally have a proper look at the new Warhammer board game, Darkwater. This dungeon crawler sees a band of heroes cleansing a Nurgle-infested ruin, and there's a big focus on accessibility – it features quickfire 30-minute matches that you can combine into a full 10 to 14-hour campaign. Because we're all so strapped for time, I'm certainly grateful for the flexibility.
It's a similar story for the components. Rather than a box of board tiles like previous Quest games (such as Cursed City) that would take up tons of space, this one uses a lay-flat book of maps. However, there are still unlockable heroes and all the cards/tokens you'd expect to dig into, not to mention enough miniatures to keep you very busy.
Besides the characters, it's all about disease-ridden Nurgle monsters here. We're getting infested Beastmen called Pestigors, bloated knights, and cultists who are losing themselves to plague. Oh, and there's a truly foul champion to lead them all called Gelgus Pust.
As an aside, these will be usable for Maggotkin armies in Age of Sigmar. Speaking of which…
Warhammer Age of Sigmar World Championship reveals
- Maggotkin range refresh
- Lots of absolutely gross Nurgle reinforcements
- A new Path to Glory book is on the way
The followers of Nurgle got a (fetid) shot in the arm as a result of the World Championship Preview show; the Maggotkin faction is getting a refresh. This thoroughly disgusting army seems to have gone down very well with the community judging by Reddit comments, and they're suitably gross.
Leading the charge (albeit slowly) is a new Festus the Leechlord on a giant, fanged slug. He's stomach-turning enough, but for my money, the Sloven Knights are more unsettling. These former cavaliers are horrendously bloated and ride pus-ridden horses, who look unwell enough to make me want to call PETA on their behalf. The revised Blightkings and smaller Rotswords warriors (who represent the mania of fever) can give them a run for their money, but there's something more haunting about those horses nonetheless.
Following these are Nurgle-aligned Beastmen, the Pestigors. They're horrific in the best kind of way, and it's nice to see the Beastmen return to Age of Sigmar after they were benched a couple of years ago.
Rules for all these can be found in the upcoming Battletome, and you can also use Darkwater's models as part of your Maggotkin army. Thanks to the new Nurgle-focused Path to Glory book, Blighted Wilds, you should have plenty of excuses to take them for a spin.
Other World Championship reveals
- Loads of new Horus Heresy/Legions Imperialis units
- New wave of Grand Cathay units
- Necromunda ends its current storyline
Although they hogged the limelight, 40K and Age of Sigmar weren't the only systems featured during the show. Horus Heresy and Legions Imperialis have both been majorly reinforced with a wealth of units, while Old World is getting another wave of Grand Cathay models.
Horus Heresy and Legions Imperialis overload
It was a surprisingly busy show for fans of the Age of Darkness; both systems set in that time period enjoyed a lot of reinforcement.
For Horus Heresy, the iconic Cataphractii Terminators are basking in two all-new plastic kits that feature the classic power maul/volkite charger combo alongside a variant with combi-bolters and power fists. These are accompanied by a new plastic Breacher Squad, infantry warriors carrying massive shields that allow for hardcore defense. If slow and steady is your jam, these guys should fit the bill.
Meanwhile, the eerie Skitarii Battle-Pilgryms (robed cyborgs on stilts, basically) are coming to aid Mechnicum players. These act as a middle-ground between thrall hordes and more heavily-armored units.
All of the above will appear first in battalion boxes.
As for the smaller-scale Legions Imperialis, the game is receiving tiny versions of the models found in the recent Horus Heresy Saturnine box set. That means Saturnine Terminators and Dreadnoughts will be marching onto the teeny tabletop soon, along with artillery and more super-heavy tanks. That means you can feasibly match your Saturnine-era Horus Heresy army with a itty bitty version.
Much like the Horus Heresy kits, these will be available first in battalion boxes.
The Old World
We're going back to the realm of Grand Cathay for these models, with the faction's peasant armies stepping up to the plate to defend their homeland from Chaos marauders in the latest Arcane Journal supplement, The Breaching of the Great Bastion. That means a whole host of militia models that can be equipped with melee or ranged weapons, aided by the wizards of Cathay's magic college (not to mention gunners with shields that are very reminiscent of City of Sigmar units).
These are all beautiful miniatures, which is par for the course for an army that convinced GamesRadar+ Editor Will Salmon to finally get into The Old World…
Necromunda
Finally, the post-apocalyptic Necromunda is finishing off its current, overarching narrative (which you might have been following since Necromunda: Hive Secundus and beyond) that sees players battling over the throne. Alongside the rulebook detailing this war both narratively and mechanically, the judge-like Palanite Justicars are on the way – complete with helmet wigs, which is glorious – led by Necromunda's current ruler, Ozostium Aranthus the Divine Prince. The latter is a truly ancient chap who is more or less a corpse strapped into fancy gilded armor. He looks like he's really been through it, poor guy.
Some Squats are being thrown into the mix as well, in case you play that gang – there are Ironhead Squat Charter Masters and Drill Masters hurrying toward us.
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