Warhammer 40,000: The new edition is revealed at Adepticon Preview 2026

A new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is on its way, and the galaxy will never be the same again! It launches with a boxed set packed with stunning new miniatures, but before we take a look at that, let’s take a quick trip to Armageddon.

The Lore

After the events of Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick, the Imperial forces on the war world are in dire straits – the Ork vanguard led by Wazdakka Gutsmek has landed, and Ghazghkull’s main force isn’t far behind. A desperate gambit by Commissar Yarrick gets a plea for aid out into the stars, and Operation Imperator, a coalition of Space Marines from many Chapters, surges towards the beleaguered planet.

The Blood Angels have a long history of defending Armageddon, and they’re back alongside strike forces from the Salamanders, Ultramarines, Space Wolves, and a dozen more. You’ll learn all about their counterattack inside the launch box, and the world-spanning brawl that follows. 

The Box

The action kicks off in a brand new boxed set – Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon. This is the biggest Warhammer 40,000 launch set yet, and is packed with new miniatures for the Space Marines and Orks. We’re not going to show you ALL the contents just yet, but if you take another look at the trailer above, you’ll get some hints about what is on the way.

Alongside two armies to do battle with, there are new rules and lore to sink your teef into as well.

We’ll be taking a few sneaky looks inside the box over the next few weeks, culminating in a live unboxing show in a few weeks’ time. We couldn’t tell you about a new boxed set without showing off a couple of new miniatures, though.

The Models

First up is a member of a new Intercessor Squad, combining the contemporary look of a Space Marine with some classic details – the mix of older armour marks with new ones is indicative of what you can expect from the rest of the unit. 

When they first rolled off Belisarius Cawl’s production lines, the Primaris Space Marines were all equipped with uniform suits of Mk X power armour. Over time, the attrition of unrelenting war has led to Tacticus armour needing to be supplemented with older parts. Different helmets, shoulder pads, and greaves are commonplace, and this new kit has all sorts of nostalgic callbacks to previous Space Marine designs.

The humble Ork Boy is still a heavily muscled force to be reckoned with, and recently they’ve had a bit of a revelation – why should holding a choppa stop you from carrying a shoota too?

Ork Boyz now have the best of both worlds, with every boy carrying a choppa, slugga, AND shoota into battle – all they need to rake Space Marine lines with a hail of bullets before charging in for a proper scrap.

The Rules

We’ll be diving into the new rules over the coming weeks, but we wanted to give you a flavour of the changes on the way. 

Army Building
What does this ‘new edition’ talk mean for your existing army and their codex? Good news – your current codexes and faction rules will still be valid! This is also true of the rules in the recent campaign supplements, including the upcoming Armageddon: Return of Yarrick.

However, Detachments are changing to give you more flexibility on how you build your army. You can now sometimes select multiple detachments for a bespoke set of army abilities, so you’ll be able to bring to life your vision of how your army should fight. And, at the launch of the new edition, there will be over 70 new and updated Detachments. If you are very attached to your current army, don’t panic, the Detachments in your current codex still work too – you just have even more options now.

Missions
Your choice of Detachments now also affects your missions.

Your objectives in a game will now be in part dictated by the type of army you bring to the field, and the force your opponent has brought. Armies that specialise in holding ground will be rewarded for doing so, while other forces that may be optimised for disrupting enemy plans, or just killing lots of enemies, will be rewarded for doing that too!

Objectives
No more circles.
Round objective markers are gone and replaced by terrain footprints to determine control of key locations, relics, or fortifications.

Terrain
The terrain rules have seen a big shakeup. The default bonus for cover now impacts Hit rolls, not saves, and units are generally far easier to hide than they previously were.

Combat
There have been a range of subtle changes to combat that add up to quite a different feel and a cleaner Fight Phase. Changes include more flexibility for picking targets when charging, changes to activation order, fast dice rolling for dealing damage, and changes to the order of consolidation and pile-in moves.

Our coverage of this groundbreaking new edition will begin soon, so check back with Warhammer Community each week to see what’s coming up in the next evolution of Warhammer 40,000. In the meantime, head back to the Preview hub to find out what else we revealed today – like the campaign on Armageddon that leads up to this launch box.

It’s time to pick a side – will you join the mighty world-shaking Waaagh! of Ghazghkull Thraka and the innumerable Ork hordes, or fight alongside the Angels of Death as Armageddon’s salvation? Sign up for our newsletter, choose your side, and get all the latest updates and reveals from the front lines of Operation Imperator.

• Warhammer 40,000 has a brand new YouTube channel, where you can see the awesome new trailer and more!