Warhammer Community Blog

The fen-mists of the Jade Abbey part to reveal the new Warhammer Quest box! Only, they don’t part very well… and the picture is still kind of blurry…

You might have seen this image questing about the internet this morning. We can make out some green dudes. There’s some dice, maybe. What looks like a horse or something…

Ok, it’s not a great picture – a particularly rotten potato-cam capture, by the looks of it. Even the keenest-eyed aelf might struggle to make out the details.

So here’s the deal – you let us know which miniature YOU want to see in glorious high definition, and we’ll reveal them in all their heroic detail tomorrow.

There are four classic Warhammer questing archetypes to choose from – a knight with an extra-fancy helmet, a short angry guy with axes and a beard, a warrior-mage with a magic sword, and a sellsword with a double-handed claymore.

• Inara Sion, The Cleansing Blade

• Bren Tylis, The Renegade Saint

• Edmark Valoran, The Manticore Knight

• Drolf Ironhead, The Grizzled Explorer

You have a little over 12 hours to cast your vote, and the most popular choice will have their miniature revealed tomorrow!

The poll will stay open until 9am UK time, and we’ll reveal the victorious hero tomorrow. Wild speculation is encouraged in our social media comments. Make sure you subscribe to the Warhammer newsletter to see all the reveals as they happen!

If enough of you vote, we might even show off a few more things soon before the full reveal is due, so get your friends to vote too. If you can find three people who all have a different favourite, you might just have found your questing party…

It’s the final week of our month-long giveaway celebrating the anniversary of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. We’re sure you’re familiar by now, but just in case you’ve missed out, we’ve teamed up with Focus Entertainment and other licensed partners to bring you four sets of prizes.

Among this week’s pile are physical and digital copies of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, plus the year two Season pass.

All you need to do to enter is sign up to the Warhammer Newsletter at the link below and follow Focus Entertainment on Instagram.* If you signed up through the competition post in any of the previous weeks, then you don’t need to do anything else. If you already signed up to the newsletter in the past and want to enter the competition, you’ll need to fill out the form again so we can confirm you’ve followed Focus Entertainment, and tell us your gaming platform of choice.

Here’s what you can win in the final week.

Up for grabs is a collector’s editions of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on the platform of your choice, which contain a Lieutenant Titus statue, steelbook case, and collector’s art book, a series of download codes for the base game on either Steam, Xbox, or PS5, Season Pass 2 download codes for the second year of Space Marine 2 content, and Ultima limited edition steelbook versions of the game, plus a stack of Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Sets.

This is the final pool of prizes, and those who have already entered into the competition but haven’t won a prize yet won’t need to lift a finger, as they will be in the prize draw for round four. Good luck, and thanks for taking part!

We've contacted the selected winners from last week – check your inboxes! We'll announce the winners in full at the end of the competition, once the list has been confirmed.

* 18+. Geographical restrictions apply. Enter by subscribing to the Warhammer newsletter and following Focus Entertainment on Instagram. Ends 20th Oct 2025, 132 Space Marine 2 products and merchandise items to be won, 1 prize per winner, 4 prize draws starting 30th Sept 2025. Games Workshop Limited, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS. Full terms and conditions apply.

As has no doubt been hammered into you by now by the servants of the Bullfather themselves, the Helsmiths of Hashut live for domination. Their tyranny knows no bounds, and the forces of each ziggurat inevitably fall under the command of a handful of venerated elders – be they War Despots, Daemonsmiths, or Ashen Elders – who hold onto their positions with fearsome tenacity.

Healthy competition is useful to keep the Zharrdron top brass from getting complacent, with up-and-coming smiths, priests, and minor tyrants all eyeing the top spots with envious eyes, each working out how to exploit their way to the top. In the narrative play of Path to Glory, you can create your own Hashutite overachiever and demonstrate their ruthless ambition with new Anvil of Apotheosis rules.

Every battletome comes with its own Anvil of Apotheosis section, and the arrival of a new faction and a fresh influx of players feels like a great time to revisit the format. You start off with a basic but respectable Helsmiths of Hashut Hero warscroll, and three tiers of destiny points to spend: Cruel Overlord, Hashutite Tyrant, or Honoured of the Dark Conclave. We’re going to stay modest and pick option number two, giving us 30 points to play with.

You start by choosing whether your hero is a Warlord, Infernal Sorcerer, or Scorched Acolyte. The first two get an enhanced Hashutite Blade with Crit (Mortal) and two extra attacks, with the Sorcerer gaining Wizard (1). The Scorched Acolyte, on the other hand, gets Priest (1) and the ability to earn a ritual point while contesting a Place of Power or terrain feature with a friendly desolation. We’re making a wizard, because we love chucking spells about.

Now for the fun part – your origins and flaws. You can pick one of each, with flaws giving you back some destiny points. Power Through Dark Pacts is a nice way of temporarily boosting the power of our hero, as long as we can make those clutch 4+ rolls. Otherwise they’re taking wounds, or sacrificing a nearby unit.

There’s also Purveyor of Dark Mechanisms, which lets us heal a war machine in each of our hero phases, and Ruthless Industrialist, which helps a hero ascend their chosen path by hitting milestones of desolation tokens created across games.

We’re here for the flaws, though. We’re keeping up the theme of letting dice decide our fate, giving our sorcerer the Creeping Petrification flaw. For the cost of subtracting 2 from run and charge rolls, we get a refund of four destiny points, and the chance to turn to stone forever if we’re unlucky. Hopefully Hashut looks upon us favourably! Another fun choice is Rigid and Unmoving, which denies your army the use of the Redeploy command while your hero is on the field – Zharrdron should only march forward!

Any Helsmiths leader worth their salt will have their pick of the Taurus statues that stand sentinel atop the ziggurats, and we can pick between an Infernal Taurus for 14 destiny points, or a Venerable Taurus with more health for 18. We’re going to settle for the Infernal Taurus, which nets us the Daemonic Resilience found on the vanilla version of the warscroll.

A choice of five different mount upgrades lets you improve upon sculpted perfection – we’re torn between giving our Taurus a gnarly Flesh-melting Aura, because of how cool it sounds, and a Body of Hardened Obsidian, which makes it even tougher by causing Daemonic Resilience to act as if it always has one more daemonic power point allocated to it than it does. Sticking with our tough and resilient theme, we’re making our Taurus obsidian, plus we get free power! 

We’ve got a little greedy there, leaving ourselves only nine destiny points to play with for the final page of upgrades. These are split between a series of simple boosts to statistics, such as adding 1 to the Control characteristic or improving the Hashutite Blade by giving it better hit and wound rolls or new weapon abilities. 

Hitting on a 3+ is fine, but we’d like to wound on a 3+ as well, so that will cost us three points for Malignant Brawn. If we weren’t building a spellcaster we could go all in with Foe-seeking Hexes and Rigorously Trained to get to 2+ hit and a fairly nasty 7 attacks for three and five destiny points respectively. Instead, we’re going to enlist an enthusiastic Hobgrot Advisor to accompany our sorcerer. 

That gives us a token which lets us add 3 to the control scores of nearby friendly Helsmiths of Hashut units, though his commitment to the role does mean he’ll throw himself in front of the first attack that bypasses our armour save. Thankfully we can always pick up another before the next battle…

Voila, now we’ve got our very own despotic hero with some custom abilities, ready to lead our budding Helsmiths of Hashut force to victory in a Path to Glory campaign. Picking the Body of Hardened Obsidian for the Taurus gives us a nice excuse to paint them up in a striking black scheme, and we’ve got plans to source a spare Hobgrot Vandal for our snivelling, er, trusty, acolyte. 

Battletome: Helsmiths of Hashut is available to pre-order on Saturday, alongside the whole range of miniatures, including everything you need to build or kitbash your very own Path to Glory hero for narrative battles. 

We’re trying something new this week – to grab your attention more with our incredible Rumour Engine images, we’re showing off something that literally grabs things.

What does it grab? Who is the operator? What are their hopes and dreams? Do servitors dream of… Never mind, just tell us what you think it is on Facebook and Instagram. But don’t get it right, or we’ll look like a bunch of fools.

Another year, another chance for Da Red Gobbo to step up his festive cheer, and this time he’s pulled out all the stops. Not content with dropping ‘presents’ down chimneys or hiding bombs in snowmen, he’s spent the year toiling away on his latest devious scheme – Da Red Gobbo’s Tinboy.

It may look like a nutcracker, but the only thing it’ll be cracking is skulls if they try to stop Da Gobbo from delivering his payloads to all the good Boyz and Nobz this year. Someone might want to tell the Vostroyan Firstborn that their style is being pinched, although we have to admit, the Tinboy is certainly a revolutionary piece of engineering.

Alongside this Commemorative Series miniature – available during this Christmas season – you’ll also be able to pick up a new novella starring the Red Gobbo. 

Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand by new Black Library author Andi Ewington thrusts an unfortunate grot named Bodgit into the depths of a recently emerged space hulk, where the odds of survival are low for Space Marines, let alone Gretchin. To make matters worse, Kaptin Bludhook is out to make the poor grot’s life even more miserable – but the spirit of Da Red Gobbo smolders inside Bodgit’s breast, and his newfound revolutionary power might just be enough to outwit the Freebooter Kaptin and escape from the malformed hulk’s clutches.

With Christmas only a couple of months away and more Warhammer fans to buy presents for than ever, you may be overwhelmed with gifting ideas, and a comprehensive guide is just what you need to single out the best stocking fillers. Luckily, our annual Warhammer gift guide is coming soon! It will land in your local Warhammer store in November, packed with all sorts of useful information and ideas – and awesome kits you can conveniently circle before slipping the guide into your family’s inbox.

You can pick up your own copy of Da Red Gobbo’s Tinboy and Da Red Gobbo’s Last Stand soon, so keep an eye on Warhammer Community for our upcoming pre-order announcements every Sunday. Want to pick up a gift guide in November? Find your local Warhammer store with our convenient Store Locator!

The Helsmiths of Hashut have set their sights on the Mortal Realms, viewing its people and resources as nothing more than fuel for their furnaces. To expand and control all the lands around them is nothing short of their right, as delivered to them by Hashut, Father of Darkness.

From him, they learned how to draw upon the raw stuff of Chaos itself and trap daemons in their devastating weapons. Nearly all of the Zharrdron who studied under Hashut and learned the difficult art of inscribing the runes required to bind daemons are long since dead – piled into furnaces or sealed in tombs whose palpable aura of malice speaks loudly of their transgressions.

Not Urak Taar. As leader of the Forge Anathema, Taar has an overwhelming sense of superiority compared to even the rest of his tyrannical fellows. If he is to be believed, then he was right there in Ur-Zorn with the Bullfather himself, and helped his divine master wrest the knowledge required for daemonsmithing from deep within the Realm of Chaos. 

By our reckoning, this puts him in the running for the oldest mortal still living in all of the realms. Now this is a contentious claim. What of the slann? They precede the formation of the Mortal Realms, so can it even be said that they are of the realms? We think not. Out on a technicality. Sorry Old Ones, your Great Plan didn’t account for this level of pedantry.*

But what of Krondys and his twin brother Karazai? The Draconith lived in the Mortal Realms long before the humans, duardin, and aelves. Well… how mortal are you if you’re descended from an omniscient draconid god? We’re leaning towards “at least a little divine”. Kragnos? Apotheosis. Next. Let’s settle on the fact that Urak Taar is certainly one of the oldest mortals, though we think he’d continue to argue the point further. He is very patient.

Regardless of the leaderboards, Taar’s age is reflected in the magical petrification that has claimed most of his body, the inevitable cost of practicing Hashut’s infernal craft. Many other sorcerers have fallen foul of this curse, the reach of their ambition falling short of their ability to hold their just deserts at bay, but Taar persists. Only through pride and willpower does he hold back the inevitable… that and a lifetime dedicated to unearthing arcane secrets. Amazing what you can put your mind to when you can see your own flesh turning to stone.

As an expert smith, Taar created some of the weapons and armour of the Varanguard in exchange for secrets that helped stem the change. In battle he wields the arcane staff Dumakaz, an artefact said to be forged by Hashut’s own hand. He proclaims that the transmutative magic roiling around it provides a minor salve to his affliction, but, in truth, turning his enemies and unfortunate servants into obsidian just to shatter them satiates only his grim sense of humour.

His Infernal Taurus steed, Ghorrakos, is unique amongst these great constructs. The souls of the bullsires of Korrok were rendered down and poured into its creation, and the great bronze beast often moves on its own, a display of wilful insubordination which Taar would find highly unseemly if not for the dark secrets it occasionally rumbles to him.

The only route he can perceive that will let him escape the curse is to simply outdo Hashut and become a god himself – the logical conclusion of the arrogance the Father of Darkness imbued within his followers, and for Taar simply one more step in the centuries-long search for superiority in all things. With command of the forces of the Forge Anathema, he wields the greatest and vastest military force available to all of the Zharrdron, with war machines rescued from the bowels of Ur-Zorn itself, using them to pursue his selfish desires.

Perhaps it was one of Ghorrakos’ mysterious whispers that caused Taar to personally lead an assault against Grimnir’s Firehold, stealing something from its vaults that even the First Daemonsmith finds interesting enough to keep a closely guarded secret. Whatever the reason, as long as he can hold the curse back, he’s here to stay.

You can pre-order Urak Taar on Saturday, along with the rest of the Helsmiths of Hashut range, and lay claim to the Mortal Realms – which we all know are rightfully yours.

* This also puts Gotrek out of the running.

Who doesn’t love a good realspace raid on a Monday afternoon? Warhammer Paint Presenter Emma certainly does. She was first drawn into the Dark City of Commorragh way back in 2010, and has painted two separate Drukhari armies since then, one she describes as a colourful cavalcade of murder, and the other a copper-adorned clique. Here’s Emma to tell us more.

Emma: There’s nothing that puts my painting brain into overdrive like fast, deadly xenos from the darkest parts of the Webway. When I first started collecting Drukhari, I slowly amassed what I wanted an army to look like – a few units of Kabalite Warriors here, some Wyches there, a handful of Raiders for good luck. 

I tried out various colour schemes, but didn’t find one that I was 100% happy with. As I went along, I experimented, tried new techniques, found that I fell in and out of love with certain colours, and discovered that some miniatures just look really, really good in galaxy patterns.

This is how the Kabal of the Lost Souls was founded – a vast gang of Kabalites, Wyches, and wayward souls, each unit standing out on their own amidst a sea of colours and spiky armour. My favourite miniature from this collection is the Blooded Thorn, a soul-shattered Wraithknight banished from its craftworld and now a key part of this force. It’s tastefully converted with spikes, chains, and hooks – if it’s deadly looking, it’s on there. 

Since I finished this army, time has passed. Some of it has been kept on display in cabinets, some unfortunate units were locked away in a box in the attic to make space for new projects, and protected from the ravages of dust, She Who Thirsts, and cats who take a very Drukhari-like sadistic pleasure in knocking miniatures off high shelves.

Then the Lelith Hesperax miniature was refreshed in plastic, and my passion for the denizens of the Dark City was refreshed with it. I started to pursue a new army, and this time they would all be in the same colour scheme!

Meet the Kabal of the Dark Intruder. 

Over the last few years, I’ve painted a few heroes, units, and larger models for this collection. It may be small compared to its predecessor, but the unity of the ashen black, dark red, and copper accents is something I have been proud of – so proud, in fact, that I’m happy to share the key parts of this colour scheme with my fellow Drukhari enthusiasts.

This is a nice, simple scheme that allows other details to shine, such as the flayed skins and acid-green weapons. Painting the more esoteric units, like Wracks and Mandrakes, in these colours also really sets them apart from the best-known kabals, cults, and covens. 

I was very fortunate to be able to paint the new Archon model, creating Kyr’adazar the Spectre, and you can see how great he looks in this scheme, too. His acid-green huskblade and soul trap show off how deadly, obscure, and sinister the dark gifts of the Commorrites can be.

I don’t plan to stop adding to this army any time soon. I already have more miniatures ready for painting – my next victims are Incubi, Scourges, Hellions, and some more Wyches and Kabalites. Maybe I’ll even find another Wraithknight to corrupt and convert. After all, why change the habit of a lifetime?

Thanks, Emma! Watch this realspace and you may just see more of Emma’s army as the Kabal of the Dark Intruder grows. If you’ve been inspired to start a Drukhari army yourself, you don’t have to travel all the way to Commorragh – just head to the Warhammer website, where you can order the Codex, Combat Patrol, and loads more to build your raiding party.

The Mortal Realms quake as the Helsmiths of Hashut leave their ziggurats to subjugate all around them. Brandishing weapons empowered by the daemons bound within them, they desolate the lands to extract more energy and supercharge their forces. The whole range is ready to join in the battle, including the infamous Urak Taar. There is also a huge pile of Black Library books incoming, which, coupled with the festive gear now on pre-order, will make perfect gifts for the Warhammer bookworm in your life.

Battletome: Helsmiths of Hashut

After years of toiling in secret were interrupted by the idiotic plans of the Skaven, the Helsmiths of Hashut have accelerated their plans for total domination, and now march into battle under choking clouds of ash. Their ambition knows no bounds, and they see all the realms and their peoples as resources to exploit in an arrogant quest for power.

Battletome: Helsmiths of Hashut is your 90-page guide to the latest army in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, duardin who worship the tyrannical god Hashut, who claims to be a forgotten ancestor god. From him they learned how to entrap daemons in their weapons, which they use to devastating effect. You can learn all about their history through pages of exciting lore supported by gorgeous art and miniatures photography, and practise their destructive craft on the tabletop with a full suite of battle traits, enhancements, and warscrolls, as well as two Regiments and Armies of Renown, a Spearhead, and Path to Glory rules.

This book will also be available in a smaller gamer’s edition, which includes a full set of 32 reference cards. This version will be available only while stocks last.

Urak Taar the First Daemonsmith

As one of the most ancient mortals still living in the Age of Sigmar – depending on where you draw the line on the slann and a few other characters – it is said Urak Taar learned how to shackle daemons from Hashut himself. He has created countless weapons and daemon engines, and continues to practise cruel magic in an attempt to reach godhood himself, even though he should have succumbed to the stone-flesh curse many centuries ago. As the leader of the Forge Anathema, he rides into battle atop the bronze-bodied Ghorrakos, an Infernal Taurus that displays a frightening degree of sentience.

This kit can also build a Daemonsmith on Infernal Taurus, who uses their position atop a living statue to cast powerful sorceries and turn the tide of battle, before charging in to skewer and crush their pitiful foes with their living statue mounts. The Daemonsmith has two head options and two options for each arm, while the Infernal Taurus has two pairs of horns to choose from, plus a forehead gem with and without smoke emitting from it.

Daemonsmith

By learning the teachings of Hashut, Daemonsmiths become masters of infernal mechanisms and magics that evoke the fire of the forges. Their towering arrogance and unquenchable desire for power make them natural leaders, and in battle they use their skills to empower nearby daemon engines. 

The kit can also build an Ashen Elder. These priests sit high in the hierarchy of the temples dedicated to the Father of Darkness. They wield sacred Black Hammers in battle as they bellow hateful orations, while keeping a close eye on their soldiers to make sure they are acting with an appropriate degree of fanaticism…

War Despot

Each ziggurat’s royal clans are ruled by a War Despot, a brutish tyrant swollen with dark power and clad in the finest armour crafted by the forges. They demand that their underlings triumph in all things, or perish in ignominy, and set at their rivals with large daemonflame glaives, which crackle thanks to the daemonic essence bound within.

Bull Centaurs

The image of the taurus is holy to the Helsmiths, and so the mutants called Bull Centaurs are worshipped by the Zharrdron as if they were living demigods. With their every whim and desire catered for, their egos swell to colossal size, to the point that they view their enemies as inferior beings to be crushed under hoof or by swinging maul. 

This box can build three Bull Centaurs, or three Anointed Sentinels – a more zealous breed who are raised as temple guards. They stand watch over the battlefield and recount scripture as the Helsmiths desolate all before them, launching brutal counter-charges if their foe tries to interfere. Bull Centaurs have a set of four interchangeable horns, while Anointed Sentinels have a set of three interchangeable masks, and the kit also comes with a Helsmiths of Hashut transfer sheet with 450 transfers.

Infernal Cohort

The Infernal Cohort are the backbone of every Zharrdron army, drawn primarily from the royal clans, who have chosen to repay their wages of toil by seeking glory on the battlefield rather than choking in forges. Those with Hashutite blades are experts in running their foes down, hacking away with brutal efficiency, while regiments that wield Hashutite spears form armoured walls that are able to stand their ground against the most brutal of charges.

This box contains 11 miniatures – 10 Infernal Cohort and a gong-carrying hobgrot. One of the duardin can be built as a champion with a hammer and shield, or with a two-handed axe, one can be built as a standard bearer with three head options and three banner toppers to choose from, and one can be built as a musician, whose hobgrot attendant has two head options. Standard Infernal Cohort miniatures all feature separate left arms that are interchangeable between minis, and shields, which are also interchangeable. This box also contains a Helsmiths of Hashut transfer sheet with 450 transfers.*

Dominator Engine

Few know the true provenance of the Dominator Engines, walking mechanised constructs that are created in the image of the Bullfather. Within their furnace-bellies burns a conflagration of tormented daemon-essence, which lends their dread weapons a malign power. Those with bane maces wade into enemy battlelines, crushing and pulverising their foes with their ensorcelled weapons, while those armed with immolation cannons unleash torrents of daemonfire that spreads with supernatural swiftness.

Each Dominator Engine has two stomach plates with distinct designs, plus a choice of two face plates and two pairs of horns that can be mixed and matched, as well as poseable arms.

Deathshrieker Rocket Battery

The Helsmiths of Hashut create all manner of destructive weapons and war machines, each powered by the essence of daemons bound through exacting arcane rituals. Within the screaming payload of a Deathshrieker Rocket Battery resides a writhing daemonic flame. This dire stuff ignites on contact with air, racing towards foes as if possessed by some vile sentience, consuming all it touches. This kit can also build a Tormentor Bombard, an artillery piece that uses the raw essence of Chaos as ammunition, its destructive ordnance tearing targets to pieces in explosions of dark power. Each war machine comes with accompanying crew, and the box contains a Helsmiths of Hashut transfer sheet with 450 transfers.

Infernal Razers

Zharrdron artisans who are capable of making intricate weapons are often recruited into the regiments of the Infernal Razers. Operating in small groups, they wield complex and devastating firearms that unleash destruction from range as their operators cackle spitefully. This box builds five Infernal Razers, each equipped with either Grizmalok Blunderbusses that shred foes with booming shots, or Karagthrun Flamehurlers that roar with torrents of superheated flame. The champion can be built with a choice of two heads.*

Hobgrot Vandalz

Hobgrots are furtive and deceitful creatures who recognise the might of the Zharrdron empire, or the relative safety offered by ingratiating themselves with those who would otherwise wipe them out, at least. Their lot in life is still a miserable one, as the Helsmiths deploy them ahead of their main battleline to secure an advantage… and to range their brutal artillery. This box contains twenty Hobgrot Vandalz, whose champion can be armed with a cruel chain weapon or a vicious dagger. It also contains a Helsmiths of Hashut transfer sheet with 450 transfers.*

Helsmiths of Hashut Dice

You can complete your infernal collection with a set of 16 Helsmiths of Hashut dice, which are cast in a rich, marbled purple that evokes the livery of the Forge Anathema. Each dice has green pips and features the faction icon on the six face.

Krakenblood 

Ivar Krakenblood was born on the ice world of Fenris, destined to one day serve as a Wolf Priest and perform great feats for the Allfather. Ulrik the Slayer gives him a quest, to recover a lost relic of the Space Wolves and change fate itself. With a band of warriors comprising new friends and old allies, he must nevertheless face a terrible foe to succeed.

Krakenblood by Marc Collins is available to pre-order next week in a gorgeous special edition, which features an introduction by the author and the existing short story The Price of Morkai. It is presented in a black cloth cover, with screen-printed art and gold foil details, plus black page edges and a ribbon bookmark. It is available only while stocks last.

You can also pre-order this epic tale in hardback, eBook, and MP3 audiobook formats. 

Abraxia: Spear of the Everchosen

Phoenicium, City of Rebirth, has been razed to the ground and in its place rises Blackpyre, ruled by Abraxia, one of Archaon’s greatest champions. Despite her victory over the forces of order, Abraxia is now mired in a web of conspiracies that threaten to destroy her new stronghold. Only the same strength of will that took her from pitfighter to favoured champion of the Varanspire will see her through. Abraxia: Spear of the Everchosen by Chris Thursten will be available to pre-order in hardback, eBook, and MP3 audiobook formats.

The Dark Coil: Ascension

Countless stories occur all across the galaxy, with seemingly nothing linking one outburst of violence and heroism to another, but Peter Fehervari has found the threads linking together a series of disparate events in The Dark Coil: Ascension. This anthology brings together novels The Reverie and Requiem Infernal and eight short stories, all trapped in the sprawling web of the Dark Coil. You can pre-order it in paperback and eBook formats next week.

Anvils of the Heldenhammer: The Ancients

Twenty years after Anvilgard fell to the Daughters of Khaine and became Har Kuron, Knight-Incantor Tivrain Greymantle is on a dangerous mission to liberate those still incarcerated by Morathi-Khaine. Her actions are in defiance of Sigmar, in her way is a horde of Khorne Bloodbound, and what awaits her is a secret more dangerous than she can imagine. Anvils of the Heldenhammer: The Ancients by Dale Lucas is available to pre-order in paperback format next week.

On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories

The Cities of Sigmar are safe havens in the wild and chaotic Mortal Realms. To become part of the forces that protect them is to pledge one’s life and limbs to the cause. Few know this better than those who went on the Dawnbringer Crusades, but even those who decided to stay and protect their homes have suffered through many battles and tragedies. On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories contains the novella On the Shoulders of Giants by Adrian Tchaikovsky and 11 other short stories by authors Hal Wilson, Liane Merciel, Noah Van Nguyen, Anna Stephens, and more. It will be available to pre-order in paperback next week.

The Rose in Darkness (French language)

On the shrine world of Opal, Sister Superior Augusta of the Order of the Bloody Rose and her squadmates are on a mission to retrieve the skull of the revered Saint Veres, during a time of great reverence and celebration in the planet’s capital. Beneath this joyful facade, political strife bubbles and rebel attacks gnaw at the city. A secret festering beneath the metropolis begins to surface as a Genestealer Cult makes itself known, and lights a beacon that will draw a hive fleet near. The Rose in Darkness by Danie Ware is available to pre-order next week in paperback and eBook formats, for French language readers.

Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield (German language)

From young Whiteshield to renowned Cadian officer, Minka Lesk has seen many battles in her life, from the fall of Cadia to the grinding siege of Crannog Mons. German Language readers can follow her career in Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield, an anthology that collects three novels and two short stories by Justin D Hill. It will be available to pre-order in paperback and eBook formats next week.

This week on Warhammer TV there are two behind-the-scenes shows discussing how some of your favourite Warhammer games are made. 

The first is a new episode of How We Roll, where Nick catches up with Kenny from the Warhammer Studio to talk about the process behind designing the new Chapter Approved 2025-26: Mission Deck.

On Ultimate Paint-off, Emily, Amber, Jon, and Rik continue their contest in the second of three episodes filled with painting challenges. This time they’ve been challenged to do the best freehand they can on an Orc banner, and will be judged by an ’Eavy Metal painter. 

Next week on Warhammer Community we’re locking in for a festive reveal and taking a closer look at some of the Helsmiths of Hashut heading for pre-order, alongside your regularly scheduled articles.

* This product is delayed in Australia and New Zealand.

Three new Combat Patrols arrive this week, one for the Iron Hands, one for the eternally performing Harlequins, and one for the White Scars, which contains new hero Suboden Khan. We also have the pre-order of this year’s special Warhammer Day miniature – Urkhan, the Dark Warden. As we get closer to Christmas, festive gifts and merchandise are starting to appear, giving you a chance to stock up and start planning your decorations, or buy loads of presents for your Warhammer-loving friends and family. From Black Library, and for you, dear reader, a new Horus Heresy book is also on the way, alongside a couple of classics making the shift to audiobook format.

Caanok Var

Caanok Var is the Iron Captain of Clan Avernii, a cold and calculating leader who commands his Iron Hands brothers in battle with unerring precision. Most of his body has been replaced by masterwork augmetics, which have extended his life far beyond that of a normal Space Marine. With his custom Terminator armour, he is often found in the thick of the fight, where his passion for combat overcomes his cold exterior, as he crushes foes with Axiom, his brutal power maul.

Combat Patrol: Iron Hands

Overwhelm your foes with an inexorable advance of Heavy Intercessors supported by long-ranged firepower with Combat Patrol: Iron Hands. The Medusan Redoubt is led by the Techmarine Gorloch Kataan, who tends to two powerful Firestrike Servo-turrets, while a squad of 10 Heavy Intercessors march forward, eliminating resistance with their bolt weapons. This box also contains a new Iron Hands transfer sheet with 468 decals that include icons for the Clans Avernii, Garrsak, Raukaan, and Kaargul, as well as the Atropos war clan of the Sons of Medusa Chapter. This product is available while stocks last.

Combat Patrol: White Scars

The White Scars mount lightning-fast raids on their foes, reminiscent of the tactics used by the people of Chogoris, and Combat Patrol: White Scars brings their unique combat methods to smaller games of Warhammer 40,000. The Stormglaive Hunters are led by Suboden Khan, head of the White Scars’ First Brotherhood, who is available for the first time in this box.

He charges into the fray on the back of his grav bike, Thunder, wielding the power lance Stormtooth, and is backed up by three Outriders and an Impulsor carrying a payload of five Assault Intercessors eagerly revving their chainsaws in anticipation of combat. This box also contains a White Scars transfer sheet with 407 decals, including additional icons for the Spearpoint Brotherhood, Firefist Brotherhood, the Eagle Brotherhood, and the Storm Lords successor Chapter. This product is available while stocks last.

Iron Hands and White Scars Dice

You can complete your collection with a set of 16 dice for each Chapter. The Iron Hands dice set are cast in swirled silver plastic with white pips and the Chapter logo on the six face, while the White Scars set are cast in pearlised white with red pips and their Chapter icon on the six face. These products are available while stocks last.

Captain with Jump Pack and Relic Shield

Launch brutal aerial attacks on your enemies with a new Captain with Jump Pack and Relic Shield, who can be equipped with a thunder hammer or chainsword, depending on your preference for smashing up foes or rending them in two. He also has the choice of a helmeted or unhelmeted head.

Combat Patrol: Harlequins

Perform a deadly dance with Combat Patrol: Harlequins, which contains an assortment of units that are swift and powerful in equal measure. A Harlequin Troupe takes to the stage on foot as two Skyweaver jetbikes, a Starweaver transport, and a Voidweaver patrol the skies. Joining them is a Solitaire, an extremely proficient and lethal player who takes on the role of Slaanesh in the troupe’s beguiling performance. The box also contains two Harlequins transfer sheets, each containing 115 decals. This product is available while stocks last.

Urkhan the Dark Warden

Swathed in a flapping cloak, and cutting a mightily imposing figure, Urkhan the Dark Warden is presiding over Warhammer Day as this year’s Commemorative Series miniature. Armed with a sword almost as tall as he is, and with an option for a gnarly scarred bare head, or a classic Chaos Warrior helm, he would make a perfect Exalted Hero of Chaos for a Slaves to Darkness army. Available only while stocks last, you can pre-order him today to have him arrive around Warhammer Day, or head to your local store to pick him up on the day.

With Christmas rapidly approaching, our licensed partners have created a whole stack of awesome gifts for the Warhammer fan in your life.

Da Red Gobbo is first up, with a fridge magnet that doubles as a bottle opener thanks to his toothy maw. He’s also getting a cute plush from TOMY, which will be right at home snuggled in with presents under the tree. Squig-shaped slippers are excellent for stomping around the house in, and squiggy pudding baubles are wonderful adornments for your Christmas tree.

There are more squigs too, with a Squigalanche desk mat here to help keep your workspace or hobby space tidy, emblazoned with dozens of bounding red squigs.

Further ornaments for your tree include a Chaos star and an Imperial servo skull, both topped with red ribbons, so you can add some Warhammer 40,000 flair to your decorations. Our friends at Starforged have created a new purity seal badge, a Death Company purity seal badge*,and a set of keychains representing Mephiston’s pistol, an Eradicator’s melta rifle, and a servo skull. You can even make your fridge look all fancy with a set of Christmas magnets, featuring a skull and wreath, a badge of the Inquisition, and a gleaming Stormcast Eternal.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without some festive jumpers, and this year we’ve got two new ones. The most winter-coded of Space Marine Chapters get a nice pale blue jumper covered in Space Wolves iconography, while the Soulblight Gravelords are represented on a lovely festive red jumper – you just know Nagash makes all his followers buy him presents every year, and he’s really picky about what he gets.

Dropsite Massacre

One of the inciting events for the Horus Heresy, and a betrayal on a scale previously unknown, the battle of Isstvan V saw three Loyalist Legions broken by an alliance of Traitors. Dropsite Massacre by John French will draw you into a new perspective on the events, as Rogal Dorn is sent to capture the Warmaster Horus and treachery stirs in the assembled Legions. You can pre-order it today in hardback, eBook, and the MP3 audiobook version will be available to buy on the 24th of October.

Spear of Ultramar

The Siege of Terra looms large, and the fate of the galaxy balances on a razor’s edge. Roboute Guilliman leads an immense fleet through the Ruinstorm to turn the tide, but his path crosses through the Charchera system, where Warsmith Khrossus and a lone company of Iron Warriors have been given a fateful mission. They must hold back the Ultramarines at all costs. Find out how they fare in the classic Horus Heresy novella Spear of Ultramar by David Annandale, which is available to pre-order now in MP3 audiobook format.

Dreadwing

After the events of Spear of Ultramar, the Dark Angels lead a bloody campaign of annihilation against the worlds of the Traitor Legions. As the Legion fragments and the tally of shattered worlds between them and Terra grows, it falls to the Wing lieutenants to question whether the Lion is fighting a losing battle, or if he believes that victory is within his grasp. Dreadwing by David Guymer is available to pre-order now in MP3 audiobook format.

Deathworlder (German Edition)

Lazulai is on the brink of defeat in its battle against the Tyranids. The seas boil, the sky is clouded with bioforms and spores, and nearly every city and fortress lies in ruins as the Great Devourer prepares for its final meal. It is in this living hell that the 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’, led by Major Wulf Khan, undertake one last mission – to recover a piece of archeotech that has the potential to bring doom or salvation. Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward is available to pre-order for German language readers in paperback and eBook versions.

* This product is delayed in the United States and Canada.

The events of Isstvan V are frequently recognised as the inciting point of the Horus Heresy, the moment when the Warmaster made his bloody betrayal openly known. Dropsite Massacre by John French is available to pre-order on Saturday, and it’s your chance to zoom in to one of the most pivotal battles of the whole Horus Heresy saga, and discover more about what happened during this fateful event.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in the story of the Horus Heresy probably knows that the Dropsite Massacre is the event that saw the Iron Hands, Salamanders, and Raven Guard shattered by a coalition of Traitors vaster than they could have imagined. But how did it feel to the Legionaries thrown into open war against their brothers, and how did the involved commanders attempt to navigate their forces through an active slaughter?

We caught up with author John French, who has written books for Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar, alongside The Horus Heresy, to ask him about writing Dropsite Massacre, and how it felt to revisit this momentous battle.

You can pre-order Dropsite Massacre on Saturday, and follow the stories of characters like Maloghurst the Twisted, Khârn of the 8th, Castrmen Orth of the Iron Hands, and Kaedes Nex, the Blood Crow.

Suboden Khan is the master of the White Scars’ 1st Brotherhood, and a vital war leader since the Chapter Master’s near-fatal wounding during the War for Chogoris. He’s roaring into pre-orders this weekend as part of the new Combat Patrol: White Scars, so before he joins your army on the tabletop, you should get to know him first with a bite-size story.

Suboden Khan accelerated hard, guiding his grav bike across the windswept plain. Squads of outriders followed, their Raider-pattern bikes carving furrows through the thick grass. The jagged Chogorian markings on their alabaster power armour clearly denoted them as veterans of the Spearpoint Brotherhood: riders without compare. 

The grass plains gave way to rough scrubland. The khan could see the trailing elements of the Ork convoy now. Pillars of dust had long since betrayed its position. Fresh from their assault on Grell Magna Garrison, the Orks were now advancing on the agri world’s northern habs. One last obstacle stood before them: the Grell river. It was here that he had planned to strike them.

Already, the xenos had begun to cross. Giant beasts were struggling to haul wheeled wagons and rigs through the fast-flowing water. Large groups of Ork infantry clung to the wagons or waded alongside them, fighting against the torrent. Suboden smiled. They were at his mercy now. 

Orkoid stragglers heard the sound of engines and began gesticulating wildly in the direction of the Space Marines. A handful of riders mounted on squighogs managed to haul their bulky beasts around to face the khan’s charge head-on. Others scrambled to bring their guns to bear.

Flashing a hand signal, Suboden ordered a handful of his outrider squads to peel left and right, striking the flanks. Overhead, Storm Speeders screamed down to begin their attack runs, spitting red-hot death into the floundering Orks. Explosions rippled through the mobs, sending corpses and debris spinning through the air. One of the Kill Rigs caught fire, stowed explosives crackling and popping as they cooked off.

Bracing Stormtooth under his left arm, the khan angled its curved tip level to meet the oncoming Ork cavalry. Singling out the largest Ork, he angled his bike towards the target. Thunder’s engines whined as Suboden threw the throttle forward and weaved through hails of Ork fire. The hulking Ork roared, raising his crude-looking spear. Suboden ducked in the saddle, avoiding the rider’s thrust and burying the tip of his lance in the centre of his enemy’s chest. The blade punched through bone and gristle, knocking the Ork from his saddle. Suboden accelerated away, tugging his polearm loose. Riderless, the steed bounded away, smashing an outrider from his bike and falling upon the Space Marine in a blur of teeth.

Hauling Thunder around in a sharp turn, the khan drove towards the mass of Ork infantry scrambling from the ruins of the burning Kill Rig. He fired the grav bike’s nose-mounted gatling cannon as he closed in, scything several down as they raced to join the fight. The rest of the aliens returned fire. Bullets thudded against his power armour and gouged furrows in Thunder’s ceramite plating. Sweeping past the Orks, he leaned from his saddle and swung his curved power lance through the mass of foes. The crackling blade bit through armour and flesh, sending severed limbs and heads spinning into the air. Crimson blood splattered on his white armour.

Shaking gore from his weapon’s blade, Suboden Khan took a moment to evaluate the unfolding conflict. Green corpses bobbed in the flowing water, and the ruins of their Kill Rigs and wagons smouldered on the river banks. The White Scars’ flanking units now roared into the aliens, chainswords and power sabres butchering their foes. 

In the midst of the fighting, a hulking Beastboss stood alone. The leader decapitated a passing outrider with a giant blade, then tore another from the saddle with his power klaw, hurling the body of his victim into the dirt and stomping on the Space Marine’s head with a booted foot. 

Guiding his bike towards the giant, Suboden Khan roared a vox-augmented challenge. The Beastboss turned to face him, echoing the khan’s shout with a cry of his own and breaking into a loping run. The khan accelerated, bringing Stormtooth around to face the Ork leader. He grinned once more as the wind whipped at his topknot. 

Another glorious hunt. Another head for the White Road.

Last month saw the release of The War of the Rohirrim™ – the first journal for this edition of the Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game. Within its pages is a slew of content surrounding The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim™ movie, complete with Narrative Scenarios, painting guides, a number of hobby guides to build your own terrain themed around the scenes from the movie, and even how to make your own Rabid Mûmak!

But that’s not all. New plastic kits were released alongside the journal, one containing three Heroes from the film – Fréaláf, Olwyn, and Lief – and another containing the mighty Helm Hammerhand, fully kitted out in his royal armour and atop his noble steed!

This has clearly inspired the Lead Writer for Middle-earth™, Jay, to add more to his burgeoning Rohan collection which, now bolstered by these new Heroes, is looking pretty formidable on the tabletop!

Jay: The Rohan army you see before you was initially built and painted to be my Grand Tournament army for the forces of Good earlier this year. I went with a Defenders of the Hornburg list (hence the snowy bases) featuring Helm Hammerhand, Wraith of the Hornburg, and led by Héra, the Bride of Death.

The release of the new plastic Heroes gave me a chance to paint them up and field the Warriors of Rohan you see here as the Army of Edoras – after all, it’s the same Warriors of Rohan, just led by different Heroes!

Naturally, this army will be led by the king himself – now with a glorious new model that was an absolute joy to paint! At his side stand his children, Haleth, Háma, and Héra, all of whom have different roles on the battlefield, and are well equipped to accomplish them. Whilst I’m not sure I’ll be able to squeeze all of them into every list I take (depending on the points value), seeing them all painted up and standing side by side together does warm my heart a little – even if some of them do meet a tragic end…

Of course, it would be a real shame if my army didn’t have the newly released Olwyn, Lief, and Fréaláf ready to go as well! I always like to try to paint my Heroes to match what we see in the movies, and I’ve tried my best to accomplish that here. I’m particularly happy with how they’ve turned out, especially Fréaláf, who, incidentally, is my personal favorite of all the new models to come out this release. 

So what’s next? Well, that’s a good question. The plan is to paint up a warband of Warriors of Harrowdale to accompany Fréaláf into battle. Luckily, there is a handy paint scheme in The War of the Rohirrim journal with tips and tricks to get them just right – I’ll be using that for sure! Then it’ll be time to get them to an event and enact some glorious battles in the name of Helm Hammerhand. For Rohan!

Thanks, Jay! The War of the Rohirrim™ journal, Helm Hammerhand, and Fréaláf, Olwyn, and Lief are all out now. Perfect for starting, or expanding, your own army of the Rohirrim!

The Aeldari have been a part of Warhammer 40,000 from its very earliest days, and have always stood as a sleek and shiny counterpart to the oppressive Imperium, brutal Orks, and monstrous Tyranids – a bastion of advanced technology and aloof superiority that has been reflected across hundreds of amazing pieces of artwork.

As part of our continuing series taking a look at some of the finest pieces from the vast corpus of Warhammer art – which began with the Space Marines last week – we’re detouring to a nearby craftworld for an exhibition of artwork both old and new.

Yes, they’re not craftworlders, but we slipped a few Harlequins in there anyway because they never fail to look astonishingly good in print. If there’s any you think we missed, make sure to tell us on the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page. 

Next time, we’re getting villainous with the Chaos Space Marines, so dust off your topknots and write it out a hundred times: “Death to the False Emperor!”

Surviving is a tall order in the 41st Millennium but can you imagine how hard it would be if you got dropped in with nothing but your fists and wits to help you get by? That’s what players of Rust have to contend with, but luckily there’s an elegant answer on the way: why not just play as someone for whom survival is a secondary concern?

No strangers to hardship and the looming spectre of a horrible end, the Death Korps of Krieg have thrown on their greatcoats and will soon be deploying into the world of Rust. 

New skins will allow you to don iconic gear inspired by the Death Korps of Krieg and instill you with the die-hard determination of the Astra Militarum’s most famous siege specialists, with loads of wargear dropping in a new DLC this month.

This battle-scarred pack will come with five cosmetic items:

• A Hazmat Suit skin with the classic Krieg gas mask and trench coat look.

• A rugged field pack for the survivalist soldier.

• A brutal chainsaw reskin in the style of a classic chainsword – which looks quite a lot like the one from that epic Kill Team trailer.

• A hardy Death Korps-style shotgun with real stopping power.

• Two Krieg-styled storage barrels to hold all your stuff.

You’ll be able to get your mitts on the Death Korps of Krieg pack on the 23rd of October on Steam, and if you want a handy reminder when it’s time to suit up, you can add it to your wishlist now.

The ceramite-clad lord of Clan Avernii, Caanok Var, is almost ready to deploy to a tabletop near you – but before he joins your Iron Hands in the field, there’s still time to hear a little of his exploits. 

Iron Captain Caanok Var strode across no man’s land. Orkoid small arms fire cut the air around him, pinged from his armour or blew gobbets of mud into the air. Cogitational analysis from Cerebrex assured him none of the shots had a better than zero-point-three per cent chance of inflicting more than superficial damage to either himself or the Terminators stomping at his side. Var dismissed the incoming fire from a dispassionate tactical standpoint. At the same time, the brute presumption of the foe stoked the banked fires of anger caged deep within him. 

‘First mark,’ he spoke into his vox-bead. The signal crackled across his strike force’s communications network, to the crews of the Whirlwind artillery tanks lurking behind the ruined refinery complex to Var’s rear. They let fly. Their crews, he knew, would be all too aware of how little he cared that the Ork hordes were still locked in battle with what remained of the Savlar infantry. Bleeding hearts might lament so brutal a reward for the Imperial Guardsmen’s efforts. Var considered that if the Savlar soldiery had fought harder, they would have already won this battle, and his efforts would not have been required at all. About the time the first warheads streaked down to detonate amongst the trenchlines, he dismissed the line of thought as a distracting irrelevance.

Humans and Orks alike were vapourised in the explosions. Burning corpses thumped to the ground for dozens of yards all around. Var and his veteran battle-brothers trod them into the mud, black-armoured Gladiator tanks and Heavy Intercessors moving up on their flanks. A Binharic analysis blurt from his servo-skull, Dextrum, informed the Iron Captain that incoming Ork fire had slackened forty-six per cent. 

Var and his warriors crossed the burning trenches. They placed bolt rounds into the crania of any xenos who, despite their wounds and the flames eating them, still lurched forward to attack. Beyond the roiling smokescreen, a new vista opened up: tumbled ruins half buried in mud and wreckage and, precisely one mile to Var’s fore, the fortified shrine that was his objective. Barbaric banners and trophy poles rose above its ramparts. The barrels of crude artillery pieces could be seen jutting from its embrasures. 

He felt, and crushed, a stab of irritation that the Astra Militarum had been so close to their target for almost five days, and yet had failed to advance even that short distance and finish the job. Now he and his battle-brothers were here. The shrine would be back in Imperial hands within the hour. 

Some of the Orks’ big guns started firing, sending crackling orbs and salvoes of rokkits sailing over Var’s head. The shrine’s fortified gates swung wide, and a cavalcade of bikers roared forth, hurtling toward the Iron Hands with guns blazing. Var hefted his maul, Axiom, and rune-designated the first targets for his storm bolter. He neither slowed nor increased his stride as he prepared for battle. 

‘Second mark,’ he commanded. Around him, with precision to shame the adepts of Mars, the Iron Hands opened fire. 

It may come as a surprise, but the Shooting phase is rather important in Warhammer 40,000 – after all, it’s where all the dakka goes, and we have it on good authority that the appropriate amount of dakka is always ‘more’. To help you get a better grip on this critical part of the player turn, we’ve delved into the White Dwarf archive for some competitive insight from Warhammer 40,000 player Stephen Box.*

Stephen: The tenth edition of Warhammer 40,000 evolves the game to its best incarnation yet, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Shooting phase, where strategic mastery and tactical finesse reign supreme! In this two-part article, we’ll explore essential topics that have an impact on ranged combat, including movement and shooting, terrain and cover, visibility and stealth, threat ranges, and the order of shooting. Our goal is that you walk away with some useful insights that will enhance your play experience and make you a more competent general.

Movement and Shooting Dynamics

Movement plays a crucial role in the Shooting phase of Warhammer 40,000. Understanding how different types of moves affect shooting accuracy and employing effective strategies can give you a tactical advantage on the tabletop. By carefully considering the impact of different moves, utilising Assault and Heavy weapons effectively, mitigating accuracy penalties, leveraging shoot-after-advancing abilities, exploring faction-specific strengths, and understanding tactical synergies, you can dominate the battlefield and secure victory. 

Good luck, wargamers – may all your shots hit on a 2+.

Remain Stationary for Accuracy

Remaining Stationary provides a significant benefit if your weapon has the Heavy rule, as it conveys a +1 bonus to your Hit roll. Just remember that the whole unit has to Remain Stationary for this to kick in. One unit that can make excellent use of this is Eradicators. Their melta rifles and multi-meltas have the Heavy rule,

which means that, if they Remain Stationary, they will hit on 2+ and 3+ respectively (that’s 83% and 67% accuracy). With their unit ability that allows them re-rolls to wound against Monsters and Vehicles, they are lethal if you pick the right target for them.

Rapid Fire on the Move

Sometimes moving can be beneficial, especially if your units wield Rapid Fire weapons, which grant you extra shots if you can move to within half the weapon’s range. That’s 100% more shots for weapons like lasguns and pulse rifles, so well worth getting close if you can guarantee a kill. Keep an eye out for abilities that can boost the output of those shots even further. For example, the T’au Fireblade’s Volley Fire rule also adds 1 to the Attacks characteristic of ranged weapons, while a Dakkajet’s rapid-firing twin supa-shootas score Critical Hits with every hit, all of which benefit from Sustained Hits 1. Eurgh!

Unlocking Assault Weapon Potential

Assault weapons enable a unit to Advance and still fire those weapons. Some Assault weapons also possess additional rules like Melta, which inflicts extra damage if you can reach half range. Be mindful of where you place such weapons in a unit so that they are close enough to the enemy to benefit from these abilities. At the same time, be wary of fast-moving units such as Scourges that have access to Assault weapons. With a Movement of 14", a potential 6" Advance and 18" range on their blasters, shredders and heat lances with Melta 3, their threat range and damage output are both huge.

Move After Shooting 

The ability to make a move after shooting opens up several tactical possibilities. Use this ability to fire and then move behind terrain, making yourself less susceptible to return fire, for example. Or, after clearing a unit off an objective, leverage the extra move to secure that objective for your forces. Another effective approach is moving, shooting, and then moving again to achieve Secondary Missions like Engage on All Fronts or Behind Enemy Lines. Gargoyles are especially good at this as they can move 12" plus their Advance roll, still shoot (thanks to their Assault weapons), then use their Winged Swarm ability to move out of charge range or onto an objective.

Transports and Fire Support

Some Transport vehicles provide shooting bonuses to units that disembark from them, making the order in which you shoot critical. This rule is generally known as Fire Support and can be found on the Goliath Truck and Falcon. If your Transport vehicle scores a hit on the enemy unit (not even a kill!), your disembarked squad will be able to re-roll their Wound rolls. 

Transports and Firing Decks

Some Transport vehicles have the Firing Deck rule, which enables some models to shoot while embarked. This is especially useful as it enables the embarked unit to make the most of the vehicle’s movement to get into a beneficial position, then add their firepower to that vehicle’s shooting in the Shooting phase while being protected by the vehicle’s armour. Ork Trukks and Drukhari Raiders are the prime examples of this (admittedly the Drukhari are much better at shooting), though the Chimera also has this rule, which means you could fire up to two weapons (meltaguns or lascannons would be nasty) out of the top hatch.

The Move-Shoot Combo Attack

Let’s put a combination of these rules together. I’ll use a unit of Fire Dragons in a Falcon as my example. The Falcon can move up to 20" if it Advances, so you can get your Fire Dragons into position early on. In the second battle round, you can then disembark your Fire Dragons up to 3" from the Falcon. They have a move of 7", plus up to a 6" Advance, plus the 12" range of their fusion guns, which have the Assault rule. This gives them an effective range of 28" – though ideally 22" to make use of their Melta 3 guns. You’ll also get re-rolls to wound if the Falcon fires at the target first.

Stephen Box is a veteran Warhammer 40,000 player and a master tactician. He runs Vanguard Tactics, a website that helps people to think critically while remaining composed and confident in their ability to play Warhammer 40,000.

A version of this article was originally published in White Dwarf issue 494. You can find in-depth content like this every month, so there's never been a better time to subscribe.

* A few minor changes have been made for clarity.