For months, we’ve been trying to puzzle out the Big Story Event (BSE) that’ll launch Warhammer 40,000 into its next big, three year cycle, but Uncle Geedubs hasn’t made it easy. We’ve had to update our Warhammer 40k 11th edition guide between 39,999 and 40,001 times so far. Now, a week before GW’s big Adepticon preview, we get the biggest upset of all: Commissar Yarrick is alive again, and he’s leading an Astra Militarum fight on Armageddon that’s so important it gets its own cinematic trailer. What does all this mean? Well, I have my theories – let’s examine the evidence.
Two things to call out right up top. First, none of this is based on secret holo-wafers slipped to us by GW’s inquisitorial agents. We’re going purely off public reveals, releases, and teasers, combined with past knowledge of when and how the Great Beast of Nottingham does its Warhammery business.
Second, we’re not shocked to learn that Commissar Yarrick – a dude famous for facing unbeatable green-skinned foes and walking away with nothing but scars and trophies – didn’t die. In Warhammer 40k, the rule is, unless you see a body, expect them to come back someday. Besides, if there are two things GW loves to do, it’s keep fans guessing, and revive popular characters right at the end of edition cycles.
So no, Sebastian Yarrick’s resolute alive-ness on Armageddon isn’t a huge surprise, but the manner and timing of its announcement is. It’s thrown a bunch of our predictions for 11th Edition straight into the Warp.
See, this close to the new edition’s arrival, we’d been expecting all GW’s Big Loud Reveals (BLRs) from here on out to be setting up the big 11th edition launch box and its surrounding story. That means Space Marines, a new leading villain (Orks), and a major new character for both sides – possibly even another returning primarch. Since 2016, six Space Marine primarchs have marched back onto the table, and five of them dropped as part of the launch fanfare for 40k’s 8th and 10th editions – so it was a fair bet.
Then, on Monday, Old Bale Eye showed up, with not only a sick new model, but also a suspiciously high production value reveal cinematic – the sort of thing GW normally saves for, oh, I don’t know, new edition launches. Panic. Confusion. Pandemonium. I felt a real kinship with that wavering Lord General that Yarrick executes in the video above, to be honest. It was proper “all is lost, flee for your lives” energy.
After a bit of time to calm down, my next theory was that maybe, just maybe, the good ol’ Astra Militarum might be the stars of the 11th Edition launch box? It’d be unorthodox as hell, because launch boxes have always contained Space Marines, forever.
Maybe the whispers were true and there is no single 11e launch box, but several two player battle boxes? Maybe, as one of our Discord members ambitiously hoped, the box might have Guard and Space Marine units, alongside new soup rules for combining Warhammer 40k factions in one army? Wild imaginings, I know, but it was a tumultuous day. I even made a slightly manic video about it.
Late on Wednesday, though, we got one last piece of the puzzle: GW confirmed its upcoming Adepticon preview stream with a video that includes:
- Eddie Eccles painting Orks models on a desk with a massive Astra Militarum sentinel model on it.
- Adam Troke riding a big, red motorbike, wearing a biker jacket bearing the symbol of the Evil Sunz Ork clan.
- Another mention of Armageddon.
Red motorbike + Evil Sunz suggests not only that we were right about those new Ork Warbikes, but that long neglected warbiker boss Wazdakka Gutsmek (so good they named a red paint after him) is returning too, with an official plastic model for the first time.
So, like an expert TV chef, let’s lay out our ingredients. We’ve got:
- At least the new Yarrick, and possibly more new Guard models.
- Almost certainly new Wazdakka, and definitely more Orks models.
- A Guard vs. Orks war going on on Armageddon.
- Maximum four months left until 11th Edition.
What is GW cooking with them? Now the initial mania has subsided, and they’ve dropped a big shiny red bike in my face, I think it’s pretty clear cut.
We predict a two-player Armageddon box set, pitting Commissar Yarrick’s Astra Militarum against Wazdakka Gutsmek’s Orks, will be the final 10th Edition 40k release.
This will be GW’s grand stage setting for whatever turns out to be the inciting incident of 11th Edition. We open with the Guard war, but its dramatic conclusion will introduce the snazzy new Space Marines going in the Summer launch box, and the scale of the new Ork threat too.
Just how much of that we’ll see shown off fully on Wednesday night’s Adepticon preview, who knows? I’d put my money on full spoilers of Wazdakka, the Armageddon box, and any other new models in it, but just a few sneaky hints of the Big Boy for now – if only because it’s in GW’s interest to get the full measure of hype for each of the two drops.
We’ll find out for sure next week, though – so if you want to be 100% across every reveal as it comes, keep your eyes on Wargamer for our unbiased reporting and analysis, by hobbyists for hobbyists. Wargamer Tim will be reporting live from Adepticon, so to make sure you hear the latest from the front, join our free Wargamer Discord and make ready!
Source: Wargamer
