After the absolute avalanche of reveals we had recently, you could perhaps be forgiven for expecting Games Workshop to give everyone a quiet week to recover.
They did not.
Instead, we've had a substantial Warhammer 40,000 balance update, the new Custodes finally hitting pre-order, more new plastic kits becoming legal in 40K, a fresh Dawn of War IV trailer, a huge Space Marine 2 update, new Necromunda miniatures and plenty more besides.
So, here's what's been happening across Warhammer this week.
The 40K Balance Update Has Arrived — And Marines Just Got Meaner
Probably the most important tabletop story this week is the latest Warhammer 40,000 balance update.
With the new Space Marine Codex arriving, Games Workshop has pushed a substantial set of changes across the various flavours of power armour.
Phobos-armoured Marines now move 8 inches, while many bolt weapons, chainswords and similar weapons have gone up to Strength 5, with some also receiving improved AP.
And this isn't just affecting regular Space Marines.
Black Templars, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Deathwatch, Grey Knights and several Chaos factions have all been touched by the update — including Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, Emperor's Children, Thousand Sons and World Eaters.
GW followed that up by looking at what all of this means for everyone who isn't wearing several hundred kilograms of ceramite.
The main trade-off is that tougher, more expensive Marines should generally mean fewer Marines on the table, giving armies such as Astra Militarum, Drukhari and Genestealer Cults opportunities to out-trade them around objectives.
And many existing Marine-killers — Doomsday Arks, Riptides, Howling Banshees, Brôkhyr Thunderkyn and the like — remain very capable of making an expensive Space Marine disappear.
So yes, Marines have become tougher.
They have not, despite what your local Marine player may shortly claim, become invincible.
"Read the Astartes balance update" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/2)
"Read GW's look at how everyone else fights back" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/3)
The New Adeptus Custodes Are Here
The other major 40K story this week is, quite literally, considerably tougher.
Codex: Adeptus Custodes is now up for pre-order alongside a sizeable expansion of the army.
The new Codex contains 27 datasheets and 13 detachments, supporting everything from the traditional Shield Hosts to Terminator, Dreadnought and Sisters of Silence-focused forces.
The big change remains the enormous increase in individual Custodian power.
A standard Custodian is now sitting around Toughness 7 with five wounds, while squad sizes have been reduced to reflect just how much more powerful each individual warrior has become.
In other words, Custodes are finally starting to feel less like "slightly fancier Space Marines" and more like the genetically engineered golden nightmares they're actually supposed to be.
And now the plastic reinforcements are arriving too.
The new Aquilon Terminator Sodality, Gyrfalcon Jetbike Sodality, Telemon Heavy Dreadnought and Pallas Grav-Attack are all up for pre-order, alongside the new Codex and Combat Patrol.
Several Custodes kits previously associated primarily with Horus Heresy have also received full support in the new 40K Codex.
It's probably the biggest single expansion the Custodes range has received in years.
The Ten Thousand might still be called the Ten Thousand.
Your actual army is going to contain considerably fewer than that.
"See the new Custodes pre-orders" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/6)
"See all 13 new Custodes detachments" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/7)
Dawn of War IV Brings in the Dark Angels
We also got a new look at Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV this week.
The latest trailer sees the Dark Angels joining the Blood Ravens on Kronus as they face the Necron forces of Chronomancer Thothmek.
Deathwing Terminators, Ravenwing-style units and plenty of extremely angry Space Marines are all on display.
More importantly, we now have a firm release date:
Dawn of War IV launches on 3 December 2026, with Space Marines, Orks, Necrons and Adeptus Mechanicus confirmed as the four playable factions.
The Commander Edition will also provide three days of early access.
Returning to Kronus was already enough nostalgia to get a certain generation of Warhammer players interested.
Adding the Dark Angels probably wasn't strictly necessary.
But we're not complaining.
"Watch the new Dawn of War IV faction trailer" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/9)
Space Marine 2 Gets a Huge Anniversary Update
Apparently one Space Marine video game story wasn't enough this week.
Space Marine 2 has received another major update as the game heads into its third year of support.
Among the additions is a new one-handed thunder hammer, available to Tactical, Assault, Bulwark and Techmarine classes.
More significantly, Siege mode is getting a Chaos variant which allows players to fight as Chaos Space Marines, slaughtering Tyranids, Guardsmen and loyalist Astartes while battling for control of Avarax.
There's also a new Space Wolves Champion Pack, an Exorcists Chapter Pack and further armour and weapon customisation.
And this is apparently only the beginning of Year 3 — with more Operations, weapons and even an Apothecary class planned over the next 12 months.
Space Marine 2 continues its determined campaign to make uninstalling it practically impossible.
"See everything in the Space Marine 2 anniversary update" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/11)
House Orlock Hits the Road
Necromunda players haven't been forgotten either.
House Orlock is getting a new collection of Road Warriors, with eight new miniatures covering Road Shooters, Engineers, Enforcers and Blasters.
The kit includes everything from boltguns and shotguns to pneumatic hammers and scrap welders.
They're being joined by Orlock Road Sergeants and Cyber-Mastiffs, while the upcoming Underhive Journal: Orlock – The House of Iron adds the new Outrider and Wrecking Crew gang types alongside new skills, equipment, campaign rules and side jobs.
Because apparently regular Necromunda wasn't already dangerous enough.
Now somebody has given the gangs better vehicles, demolition charges and robot dogs.
"See the new House Orlock miniatures" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/13)
Arkanaut Gets a Release Date
We now know when the new Kharadron Overlords animated series Arkanaut will arrive on Warhammer TV.
The three-part series begins on Friday 16 October, with subsequent episodes following on 23 October and 30 October.
It follows the crew of the Therodoson as they travel through the Mortal Realms looking for profit and, inevitably, finding considerably more danger than they bargained for.
We've had plenty of Space Marines on screen over the years, so seeing Kharadron skyships and the Mortal Realms getting some proper animated attention is very welcome.
"Read more about Arkanaut" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/15)
Black Library Heads Back Into Shyish
Black Library also revealed Whisperblade, the first full-length Black Library novel from Hal Wilson.
The story follows Zelef Eryx, an agent of the Freeguilds sent with a crusade into the Realm of Death in search of the lost fortress of Udriste.
Unfortunately, travelling deep into Shyish tends to have certain negative effects on workplace morale.
Namely madness, insubordination and things in the darkness trying to kill you.
The novel will be available for pre-order in the future.
"Read the Whisperblade announcement" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/17)
Warhammer Tone Pro Is Starting to Get Into Painters' Hands
GW also continued its big push behind the new Warhammer Tone Pro paint range this week.
The 150-colour range has been put into the hands of a number of high-level painters, with Games Workshop publishing demonstrations and interviews showing how the new paints behave when mixing, blending and layering.
The full range contains 30 colours, each available across five increasingly lighter tones.
Whether the system ultimately replaces people's enormous collections of paints from five different manufacturers remains to be seen.
But having "Tone 1 through Tone 5" written on the bottle is admittedly considerably easier than trying to remember whether Wazdakka Red is lighter or darker than Evil Sunz Scarlet.
"See Warhammer Tone Pro in action" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/19)
Space Marines Discover They Are Not Immortal
Finally, Games Workshop released a short animated film this week called Only in Death: 40,000 Ways to Die.
The premise is essentially:
Space Marines are incredibly powerful.
The galaxy contains many things that do not care.
The animation follows a collection of cartoon Intercessors experiencing various unpleasant ends at the hands of the enemies of mankind, coinciding rather neatly with the release of their much tougher new rules.
Consider it an important reminder that Toughness 5 still doesn't help if an Aeldari points an anti-tank weapon at you.
"Watch Only in Death on Warhammer Community" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/21)
That's All For This Week
So while this week hasn't quite had the sheer "what on earth are they announcing now?" energy of the Autumn Preview, it's arguably been more important for anyone actually playing Warhammer 40,000.
The new Marine profiles are now affecting the wider game, the Custodes overhaul has reached pre-order, and we're beginning to see what the battlefield will actually look like once these new Codexes settle in.
Outside the tabletop we've also got Dawn of War IV rapidly approaching, Space Marine 2 showing no signs of slowing down, and more Warhammer animation on the way.
The biggest question now is what comes next.
Because after the last few weeks, suggesting Games Workshop might have a quiet October feels increasingly optimistic.
We'll be back next Sunday with another roundup of the biggest Warhammer news, releases and reveals.
Build. Paint. Play.
— The Game Foundry