AdeptiCon 2026 just happened, and Games Workshop did not hold back. The preview show confirmed what we’ve all been expecting — 11th edition is real, it’s launching this summer, and it’s set on Armageddon. But the new edition wasn’t the only thing making noise. Kill Team got one of its most flavorful boxes in years, and the Horus Heresy picked up some genuinely useful new plastic kits.
I’m going to run through everything they showed, system by system. There’s a lot.
Warhammer 40,000: 11th Edition Confirmed
The headline: Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition launches this summer with a new starter box called Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon. It’s Space Marines versus Orks, with Blood Angels leading a coalition of Chapters against Ghazghkull’s Waaagh!
GW only showed two miniatures from the box so far, but they’re telling. The new Intercessor mixes Mk X Tacticus armour with older marks — Mk VII helmets, classic shoulder pads, scavenged greaves. The lore explanation is that years of unrelenting war have forced Primaris Marines to supplement their gear with older parts. It’s a smart visual update that bridges the Primaris and classic aesthetics without throwing either one out.
The new Ork Boy is carrying a choppa, slugga, and shoota all at once. No more choosing. Every Boy goes in armed for both shooting and melee, which is exactly how Orks should work. There’s also at least one squig confirmed in the box, which I think is the detail most people actually care about.
The box artwork deliberately nods back to 2nd edition. That’s clearly intentional.
11th Edition Rules: What’s Changing
GW gave a high-level breakdown of the rules changes, and there are some significant shifts here.
Your codex still works. Current codexes and campaign supplements (including the upcoming Armageddon books) remain valid. You won’t be going back to an index. This is huge — it means the edition transition is more of an evolution than a reset.
Modular detachments. You can now combine multiple detachments in a single army for a bespoke set of abilities. Over 70 new and updated detachments drop on day one. Your existing codex detachments still work too.
Missions tied to army style. Your detachment choices now influence your mission objectives. Armies built to hold ground get rewarded for holding ground. Armies built to kill get rewarded for killing. This should make list-building feel more thematic.
Objective markers are gone. No more fighting over circles on the floor. Objectives are now terrain footprints — you’re fighting over fortifications, ruins, and relics. I love this change. It should make games look and feel much more narrative.
Terrain and cover reworked. Cover now affects hit rolls instead of saves. Units are generally easier to hide. This is a big deal for the shooting meta.
Cleaner combat. Charges now work differently — you roll first, then declare targets. So if you roll low, you can redirect into a closer unit instead of just standing there. Pile-ins and consolidation moves happen simultaneously. Stratagem stacking is restricted. Transport disembarkation in combat is back — if your transport is locked in melee, the unit inside can charge out of it.
Leaders keep their abilities. If a leader’s unit gets wiped, the leader retains their aura abilities instead of becoming useless. A small but welcome change.
Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick
The Armageddon campaign expansion was the meatiest part of the 40K reveals. It’s a three-book set in a slipcase: a narrative book covering the war, a book of six new vehicle-focused detachments (two each for Astra Militarum, Orks, and Space Marines), and the Armoured Gauntlet rulebook.
The story picks up after Commissar Yarrick’s return to Armageddon. The Ork vanguard under Wazdakka Gutsmek has landed, and Ghazghkull’s main force is incoming. Yarrick’s desperate plea for aid triggers Operation Imperator — a massive Space Marine coalition from the Blood Angels, Salamanders, Ultramarines, Space Wolves, and a dozen other Chapters.
Wazdakka Gutsmek — First-Ever Miniature
This is the reveal that got the biggest reaction. Wazdakka Gutsmek, the most famous Speed Freak in the galaxy, is finally getting a plastic miniature — his first ever. He’s been in the lore and rules for years, but until now, anyone who wanted to field him had to kitbash. The model shows him ripping across the battlefield on Big Revva, his legendary warbike equipped with a devastating psyko-gatler.
His lore hook in this campaign is brilliant: he wants to barter passage through the Great Rift with Ghazghkull in exchange for krumping Armageddon. His ultimate ambition is to ride from one end of the galaxy to the other, and Gork’s Grin (the Great Rift) is in the way. So naturally, his solution involves lots of violence.
Commissar Graves
A brand-new character, and a deliberate foil to Yarrick. Where Yarrick is beloved and inspires his troops, Commissar Thenia Graves is feared. She’s a hardline traditionalist who believes ironclad discipline is the only thing standing between the Imperium and annihilation. Her judgment is enforced at the barrel of a bolt pistol, whether on the front lines or in the war room.
She comes in two versions — on foot and riding the Vigilance, her personalised Centaur transport. The fact that she’s taking a “personal interest” in Armageddon’s high command probably means some generals are about to have a very bad day.
Inquisitor Kroyle
This one’s different. Kroyle is an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and master big-game hunter who rides a six-legged Garralisk alien mount. He’s flamboyant, eccentric, and uses the tools of his enemies against them — including a Jindarii tox-cycler. His trophy cabinet includes nightmarish xenos beasts, and he’s hunting the biggest game on Armageddon.
The miniature comes with two head options for Kroyle and two for the Garralisk (one with a compliance hood, one with jaws free). It’s one of the more unique Inquisition models GW has done.
Intranzia Fraye — Dogmata Superior
The Adepta Sororitas get a new character: Intranzia Fraye of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. She’s a Dogmata Superior whose intolerance extends even to her own congregation — Sisters who show weakness get consigned to Mortifier engines. She leads these walking torture devices into battle in great numbers.
New Vehicles: Centaur RSV and Hippogriff AFV
Two genuinely new Guard vehicle chassis, which is rare. The Centaur Rapid Strike Vehicle is a light, open-topped tracked transport — fast, simple, and designed for Armageddon’s ash wastes where slower vehicles get encircled by Speed Freeks. Troops can shoot on the move and bail out quickly.
The Hippogriff Armoured Fighting Vehicle is a six-wheeled fire support platform with independent servo-axles. Its turret can mount a battle cannon, castigator gatling cannon, melta cannon, or lascannon. It’s often the heaviest fire support that scouting platoons can expect.
Both of these fill gaps in the Guard range. The Astra Militarum has needed something between “infantry on foot” and “Leman Russ” for years.
Battalion Boxes
Four new Battalion boxes launch alongside the Armageddon expansion:
Astra Militarum — 2 Hippogriff AFVs, 1 Centaur RSV, 1 Rogal Dorn, 10 Cadian Shock Troops. This is the first way to get Hippogriffs and Centaurs before individual release.
Adepta Sororitas — 3 Paragon Warsuits, 1 Palatine, 10 Sisters Novitiate, 10 Sisters Repentia.
Deathwatch — 2 five-man Kill Teams plus a Corvus Blackstar transport.
Orks — 6 Deffkoptas, 1 Deffkilla Wartrike, 1 Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy. Full Speed Freeks.
Steel Legion Concept Art
One more thing: GW showed official concept art for new Armageddon Steel Legion miniatures on stage. The designs include shorter lasguns so troops actually fit inside Chimeras (finally). However, the minis are still roughly two years away. This is a confirmation and a timeline, not an imminent release — but for Steel Legion fans, it’s huge just to know they haven’t been forgotten.
Kill Team: Terror on Devlan
Kill Team got one of its most atmospheric reveals in a while. Terror on Devlan is a new box set that throws an elite Cadian squad into a straight-up monster hunt.
Spectre Squad
The Astra Militarum side is Spectre Squad, a veteran Cadian kill team kitted out with specialised gear. These aren’t regular guardsmen — they’re scouts with stealth equipment, traps, and enough firepower to be dangerous. GW had severe audio issues during this part of the presentation so details were thin, but the miniatures look excellent.
The Red Terror Returns
This is the one. The Red Terror — one of the most iconic named Tyranid organisms in 40K history — is back in plastic. This thing has been a terror (pun entirely intended) in the lore since it first appeared: a massive subterranean predator that swallows victims whole, dragging them into its tunnels. Whether it’s a mutated Mawloc strain or a Trygon variant, nobody’s quite sure.
The new model looks appropriately nightmarish. It’s clearly the centrepiece of the box, and GW seems to be pushing this toward a horror/survival tone — which is perfect for Kill Team.
Nemesis Operatives
Alongside the box, GW revealed Nemesis Operatives — a new book that seems to add boss-fight and solo/co-op mechanics to Kill Team. Think minibosses for campaigns. Some of the models shown included returning favourites from Blackstone Fortress. If this means Kill Team is getting proper PvE content with cinematic monsters, that’s a fantastic direction for the game.
Horus Heresy
The Heresy reveals were compact but practical. All new plastic kits, all genuinely useful.
Spartan Prometheus Assault Tank
A new variant of the classic Spartan that swaps lascannon arrays for either gravis heavy bolter arrays (for mowing down infantry) or laser destroyers (shorter range than lascannons but more anti-armour punch). It’s still a massive transport that carries full squads of Terminator-armoured Marines. Both Loyalists and Traitors can field it, and it comes with pintle weapon options.
Charonite Ogryns
Solar Auxilia players get Charonite Ogryns — biochemically altered abhumans sealed into armoured void suits, pumped with combat stimulants, and armed with cybernetic industrial killing tools instead of normal weapons. They exist to be thrown at Space Marines when regular humans can’t cut it. The models look properly brutal.
Rapier Batteries
Two new Rapier weapon platforms in plastic:
Fire Support Battery — operates behind the lines with quad launchers (“thudd guns”) firing frag or shatter shells, or mole mortars that literally fire into the ground and tunnel beneath enemies before detonating. That is exactly the kind of bizarre, brilliant old-school tech that makes the Heresy feel special.
Direct Fire Battery — carries gravis heavy bolters, gravis multi-lasers, or laser destroyers for more straightforward fire support.
Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn
All the new units get updated rules in Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn — Part 1, focusing on one of the largest and most devastating tank battles in the entire Heresy. Part one means more is coming. Tallarn is a great setting choice — it’s a brutal, desert-world tank war that’s perfect for showcasing these kinds of heavy support units.
What’s Missing
A few things worth noting that didn’t appear:
- No full contents reveal for the Armageddon launch box yet. GW is saving that for a live unboxing in the coming weeks.
- No pricing announced for any of the new kits.
- Steel Legion minis confirmed but years away — this is a commitment, not a product launch.
- No new Chaos reveals beyond the recently shown Defiler redesign.
The Big Picture
This was a massive preview. The 11th edition announcement alone would have been enough to dominate the news cycle, but GW stacked it with an entire Armageddon campaign expansion, four named characters (three of them brand new), two new vehicle chassis, a character-driven Kill Team box, and practical Horus Heresy reinforcements.
The headline for me is that 11th edition looks more like a targeted evolution than a ground-up rebuild. Your codex still works. Your models still work. The changes are about making games feel better — more narrative objectives, cleaner combat, less stratagem abuse — without burning everything down.
Now we wait for the full box reveal. I have a feeling the Ork half is hiding some surprises.
