From new starter sets, painted terrain, and more, here's everything revealed for Warhammer 40,000 in the Big Summer Preview show.
Warhammer 40,000 11th edition has just released, but Games Workshop already has plenty of new stuff for players to sink their teeth into. New 11th edition starter sets, ready painted terrain sets, a new Ork Codex along with a couple of new units, and more are set to come to the tabletop game soon, as revealed in the Big Summer Preview show on Saturday (27 June).
Read on as we break down everything revealed for Warhammer 40,000 in the Big Summer Preview show:
Warhammer 40,000 11th edition starter boxes
With a new edition comes new starter boxes, and the ones for Warhammer 11th edition are looking very tempting. The Warhammer 40,000 11th edition Starter Set is a smaller version of the Armageddon launch box in terms of the minatures included; with Combat Patrol-sized armies for the Space Marines and Orks. It also includes a Core Rules book, 15 pieces of unpainted terrain, a double-sided game board, range rulers, dice, and a special Starter Guide.
If you want to just get one side in particular, then the Getting Started boxes are for you. These come with the Combat Patrol-size armies of either Space Marines or Orks, an introductory guide, a starter paintbrush, and 11 selected paints depending on the army of your choice.
There's also the Introductory Set, which includes a squad each of Space Marines and Orks along with six paints, an introductory book, a set of folding card terrain, a game mat, and other stuff necessary for players looking to get started in the hobby for 11th edition. There are also a couple of new paint sets, which include either a couple of Space Marine Intercessors or Ork Boyz alongside their accompanying paints, starter brush, clippers, and mould line scraper.
New ready painted terrain
If you already have the miniatures but don't have the proper battlefield for them to fight in yet, then the new terrain sets are for you.
The Warhammer 40,000 Battlefields: Armageddon box contains 28 pieces of terrain split between ruins and other Armageddon-themed pieces that all come beautifully painted out of the box. It also comes with terrain area footprints and folding, double-sided game boards for a complete set ready to host battles between full-sized 2,000-point armies. The terrain pieces are also push-fit, making it easy to set up games on your kitchen table or take them on the go.
If you're looking for to host smaller, Strike Force-sized games then the Battle Mat: Armageddon box might be the better choice for you. You can also expand the number terrain pieces available to you with individual boxes of Manufactorum Ruins, Galvanic Network, and Capacitor Cluster terrain pieces.
But if you prefer painting your terrain pieces yourself, then the Combat Patrol: Battlezone box includes unpainted push-fit pieces, terrain footprints, and fold-out game boards perfect for Combat Patrol-sized games.
You can check out the Warhammer 40,000 11th edition starter and terrain sets-focused Warhammer Community article for more detailed information.
Orks 11th edition Codex and new Trukk, Mek minis
The first Codex of Warhammer 40,000 11th edition is for the Orks, which will also bring with it new miniatures for the Trukk and Mek.
The new Orks Codex notably gives us a preview of how Games Workshop will be treating Codexes in 11th edition, with more lore and gaming content compared to past editions. The 11th edition Orks Codex notably introduces a new take on the classic Waaagh! army rule and comes with 15 detachments to mix and match to build your ideal Ork army to krump gitz with.
The Orks Codex will arrive with refreshes for the Trukk, the classic Ork vehicle of choice, and the Mek responsible for keeping them–and all other weird Ork contraptions–in working order. Standalone boxes for the Ork units featured in the Armageddon launch box–including the new Warboss, Weirdboyz, Dakkarigs, Wartrakks, and more–are also set to arrive soon alongside a new Ork Kommand Krew box featuring the Bigboss, Bannernob, and Painboy with Grot Orderly.
Check out the Orks 11th edition Codex-focused Warhammer Community article for more detailed information.
New Custodes box for both Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000
The Space Marines and Orks were not the only factions to get some love in the Big Summer Preview show, as the golden boys of the Imperium–the Legio/Adeptus Custodes–are also set to receive reinforcements that can be used in both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: The Horus Heresy.
The new Custodes Support Battle Group adds three elite units to your Custodes army in the form of four Gyrfalcon Jetbikes, a Pallas Grav-attack, and a Telemon Heavy Dreadnought. The Gyrfalcon Jetbikes and Pallas Grav-attack notably adds fast-moving elements that existing Custodes armies lack while the Telemon Heavy Dreadnought delivers overwhelming ranged firepower carried by an implacable war machine piloted by one of the Emperor's finest.
This new Custodes box is the first one to feature branding for both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, so that's Games Workshop explicitly telling Custodes players they can freely run their armies in the battlefields of both the 41st and 31st millennium.
You can check out the Custodes Support Battle Group-focused Warhammer Community article for more detailed information.
The Aeldari Exodites finally arrive in a new Kill Team box
Yes, you read that right. The Aeldari Exodites can finally take to the battlefields of the 41st millenium alongside their Craftworlder cousins thanks to the new Exodites box for Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team.
If you're unaware of who the Exodites are, they are the first Aeldari to abandon the decadence of the Aeldari Empire prior to its cataclysmic fall and the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh. The Exodites have since carved out a peaceful existence (at least as peaceful as they can get in the universe of Warhammer 40,000) in maiden worlds, only taking up their weapons in defense of their homes while mounted on Dragons (i.e. space dinosaurs, hell yeah).
The Exodites Kill Team box features three Aeldari Dragon Masters and two Drakolithes, as well as a host of invading Beast Snagga Boyz and Squighog Boyz NPOs for them to battle. The Aeldari Dragon Masters can be built as a melee-focused Clanblade, ranged Leystalker, and the Stonesinger psyker. They can also be built as lance-armed Exodite Dragon Knights, which will have rules for Warhammer 40,000.
If you want to find out more about these new dinosaur-riding space elves, check out the Exodites-focused Warhammer Community article.
Get into Warhammer with Warhammer Academy
With the expected influx of new players with the release of Warhammer 40,000 11th edition Games Workshop have announced the launch of Warhammer Academy, an online educational portal that includes over 150 videos about everything you need to know to get into the Warhammer 40,000 hobby. These videos cover every aspect of the hobby, from lore and collecting to painting and gameplay. Best of all, it's all for free!
While Warhammer Academy will be focused on Warhammer 40,000 at launch, Games Workshop have already laid out plans to expand it to include Warhammer Age of Sigmar in the near future.
