GW revealed the full Cities of Sigmar refresh, the Cogfort, a Lumineth Underworlds warband, and Vostroyan MTO, hitting pre-order this week!
Games Workshop revealed its latest pre-orders this week for the full Cities of Sigmar refresh, the long-awaited Cogfort, a new Lumineth warband for Underworlds, and a Vostroyan Firstborn Made to Order muster.
Here’s the full lineup, along with our thoughts on all the new products.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: New Pre-Order Releases
These products will be available for pre-order on Saturday, May 16, 2026, around 1 p.m. EST in the States, with a shelf release date of June 6, 2026.
If you’re still waiting on something else to hit pre-order, be sure to check out the latest new release lineup in our updated Warhammer Roadmap.
Cities of Sigmar Battletome Pre-Order
The Battletome is the cornerstone of this release. It carries the lore, the artwork, the miniature galleries, and every warscroll for the new range, so if you’re picking up the faction, this is where you start.
GW is also releasing a gamer’s edition while stocks last. It’s a smaller-format book, 66 reference cards in the box. If you’ve ever lost track of which Steelhelm rule was which mid-game, the cards make the gamer’s edition the practical pick over the standard hardback.
Cogfort Pre-Order
The Cogfort is the headline kit of the wave for sure, and the box builds either of two variants. The Cannonade carries a godbreaker cannon and a battery of secondary gunpowder weapons, while the Conqueror swaps the cannon for a realmscorcher flame cannon and enough internal space to haul a unit of infantry into the fight.
The bigger impact of the Cogfort is that every Age of Sigmar faction can take one as a Regiment of Renown. A walking castle on the table for an army that doesn’t normally have access to one is a real selling point, and the cosmetic options on the kit mean the model doesn’t have to look like a Cities of Sigmar model if you’re running it for another faction.
Hobby Tip for big walker kits:
Subassemble before priming. Cogfort has internal details and weapon options that look better when the cannons, the carriage hull, and the infantry handlers are each painted separately and then assembled. Magnetize the weapon mount on the parapet so you can swap between the godbreaker cannon and the realmscorcher down the road.
Erasmus Zonn the Enlightened One
Erasmus Zonn is the wave’s named caster, and he comes with both the Lantern of All-Knowledge and the Rod of Radiance riding atop his Glyphwing mount.
Functionally, that gives Cities of Sigmar a flying hero-wizard with bright magic, so if you’ve been building lists around magic-heavy detachments, he slots in as the obvious anchor.
Hobby Tip for hero-on-mount kits:
Pin the rider before gluing. Glyphwing has a saddle-style mount point that sits flush with Erasmus’s legs, which makes brushwork on the underside of the saddle a problem if you assemble the rider too early. Paint the rider and the mount as separate subassemblies and join them at the end.
Mallus Forgepriest
Mallus Forgepriest is the wave’s chaplain-blacksmith, leading from the front with a two-handed meteoric warhammer. Clergy, blacksmith, and battlefield exorcist rolled into one role gives Cities of Sigmar a hero with thematic gravity beyond the standard captain-on-foot.
Hobby Tip for two-handed weapon heroes:
Give the warhammer head a heat-distortion treatment. Drybrush warm orange or red over the metal where the meteoric stone meets the haft to suggest the weapon has cooled but not yet gone cold. It separates Mallus from every other foot hero swinging a hammer.
Aqshian Pyrocaster
Aqshian Pyrocaster is the bright-magic wizard slot. Emberstone wand, fire-themed spell list, and the kind of aggressive caster who’s casting fewer support spells and more direct damage spells once she’s on the table.
Hobby Tip for fire-magic wizard models:
Use a glow effect on the wand tip. A drop of clear orange contrast paint over a yellow-white base makes the emberstone wand appear glowing without painting actual flame flickers. The trick works on every fire wizard and saves you half an hour of attempting flames.
Amethyst Knellmage
The Amethyst Knellmage is the death-magic counterpart to the Pyrocaster. Shyishan arcana, amethyst scythes, and a debuff-first spell flavor that sets up the rest of the army to clean up after the spells land.
Hobby Tip for amethyst-school wizards:
Run a purple-to-magenta gradient on the robes. Shyishan models really look best when the cloth carries a glow underneath the shadow tones. Underpaint with magenta in the deepest folds, then layer purple on top. It’s the kind of effect that takes 10 minutes and makes the model look like you spent an hour on it.
Freeguild Gallants
Freeguild Gallants are the foot-knight squad. One-handed weapons, broad shields, and a kit packed with cosmetic options.
Hobby Tip for cosmetic-option-heavy infantry:
Build your sergeant first. The kit’s cosmetic options stack fastest on the unit leader, so figuring out the heraldry and pose for the sergeant first locks the visual style in for the rest of the squad. Then build the line troopers around the sergeant, not the other way around.
Gate Gargants
Gate Gargants are the wave’s pair of brutes serving as a moving gatehouse. Each gargant holds half of a massive gate, the troops behind them advance under cover, and tower-mounted handlers fire multi-barreled cannons from atop the gargants’ shoulders. When this line meets the enemy, the gargants drop the gate and start swinging warmauls.
Hobby Tip for paired large kits:
Vary the head and weapon choices between the two gargants. The kit gives you enough alternates to make each one visibly different, and a pair that looks like twins rather than clones is what draws attention to the duo on the table.
Dawner’s Triumph
Dawner’s Triumph is the new faction terrain piece. Mobile monument, memorial framing, inspiration aura for nearby troops. The standard “objective marker that buffs your guys” design pattern, with the difference being that this one has been put in service of the Cities of Sigmar lore as a memorial to the fallen.
Hobby Tip for faction terrain pieces:
Match the basing scheme to your army because each terrain looks best when it shares the basing color and texture of the units it sits next to. Don’t paint Dawner’s Triumph as a separate diorama project. Match what’s already on the bases of your foot heroes and Steelhelms.
Jorvan Kreel, Heir of the Kraken
Jorvan Kreel is the named Ranger-Colonel of the wave. Foot hero, single mighty blade, and the lore frames him as a wanderer chasing legacy debts. He’s the kind of hero who slots into list spots where Cities of Sigmar already has the heavyweights covered, and you’re looking for a points-efficient secondary character.
Hobby Tip for melee foot heroes:
Pin the sword arm for sure. Single-blade poses live or die on whether the weapon reads dynamic, and Jorvan’s arm joint is exactly the kind of single-pin contact that snaps off the first time the model takes a tumble. A pin and a drop of glue will save the model down the road.
Freeguild Grenadiers
Freeguild Grenadiers are the close-combat 10-model squad of the wave. Blackpowder weapons, flame-hurlers, and polearms in the same kit. That gives them a clear “first into the breach” duty with the options to actually do the work.
Hobby Tip for mixed-weapon infantry squads:
Lay out the weapon options before assembling the bodies. The kit gives you ten miniatures and three weapon families to mix across them, and deciding the ratio first means you don’t end up with two flame-hurlers when your list called for one. Sticking the weapons to the bodies last is the fastest build for sure.
Zenestra’s Zealots Spearhead
Zenestra’s Zealots Spearhead is the starter box of the wave. Pontifex Zenestra leads on her sacred palanquin alongside a Freeguild Marshal, a Relic Envoy, six Freeguild Command Corps, and ten Steelhelms. Standard Spearhead format: a complete Spearhead-game-mode force in one box, with every unit also legal in regular Age of Sigmar.
Hobby Tip for Spearhead starter boxes:
Batch-paint the Steelhelms first. Ten infantry models painted to a matched standard set the visual baseline for the rest of the box, and finishing them before tackling Zenestra’s palanquin keeps the project from stalling out on the showpiece.
Ven Denst’s Hounds Regiment of Renown
Ven Denst’s Hounds is the Regiment of Renown for the wave. The ven Densts are a witch-hunter father-and-daughter duo running with 11 Wildercorps Hunters, and the Regiment of Renown packaging means any Grand Alliance Order army can pick them up.
So if you want grizzled witch-hunters in your Stormcast list, here’s the easiest way to get them.
Hobby Tip for character-led RoR units:
Paint the ven Densts to a higher standard than the squad. Character-led Regiments of Renown read best when the character pair stands out from the line troops. Push the highlights one tier brighter on Galen and Doralia, or paint their cloaks in a different palette from the Wildercorps coats. The visual hierarchy tells the unit’s story before anyone reads the warscroll.
Cities of Sigmar Dice and Warscroll Cards
Cities of Sigmar themed dice for the rolls, plus the pack of warscroll cards for tracking rules at the table. Both are while-stocks-last alongside the Regiment of Renown, so if you want them, the pre-order window is the best time to get them.
Warhammer Underworlds: New Pre-Order Releases
New Warhammer Underworlds releases are here with fresh mechanics for the arena. Build your deck and get to work.
Thyrielle’s Zephyrites
Thyrielle’s Zephyrites is the new Mastery-style warband for Embergard. Lumineth from the Hurakan temples, with Thyrielle leading three acolytes plus a vulpine spirit named Tzul. The catch is that Tzul isn’t a fighter; he’s a positional token whose location dictates the range of the warband’s wind-control abilities, and the warband has a once-per-game move to reposition him.
For Mastery-format players who already own a Lumineth deck, the write-up says this synergizes with existing decks. So if you’re an Underworlds player on the fence about another expansion, the question is whether you want a positioning-based twist on top of the Lumineth list you’ve already built.
Hobby Tip for Underworlds warbands:
Paint Tzul a step brighter than the rest of the warband. The vulpine spirit isn’t a fighter, but he’s the most-watched model on the table because his position dictates the warband’s range. Soft glowing fur with ethereal contrast over the basecoat makes him stand out from across the table the way the rules want him to.
Return as 40k Made to Order
These models are available exclusively as a Made-to-Order release directly from Games Workshop. They are usually fulfilled within 180 days of their availability window, so get your orders in before the window closes.
Vostroyan Firstborn
The Vostroyan Firstborn are back for a Made to Order muster, the first time these classic metals have been on offer since 2018.
The lineup brings back most of the original Vostroyan range, including:
- Command Squad
- Commander with chainsword
- Commander with a power fist
- Commander with power sword
- Vostroyan squad
- Guardsman with flamer
- Guardsman with a grenade launcher
- Guardsman with plasma guns
- Guardsmen with sniper rifles
- Heavy bolter team
- Lascannon team
- Mortar team
- Vostroyan platoon
Their Order window is open from Saturday, the 16th, until 8am BST on May 25th, 2026, with shipping more than a hot minute.
These kits are 40k-legal as Cadian or Heavy Weapons stand-ins, so if you want to add the fur-hatted regiment to your Astra Militarum collection, the window’s open for the next couple of weeks.
Hobby Tip for classic metal MTO kits:
Pin every weapon arm. Older GW metal kits cast the bodies and weapon arms separately, and the contact points are smaller and rougher than what you’d expect from current plastic. A pin through every weapon arm and a drop of superglue saves you the inevitable arm-snap when the model lives in a foam tray for a year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cities of Sigmar Pre-Orders
When do the new Cities of Sigmar pre-orders go live?
Pre-orders go live Saturday, May 16, 2026, around 1 p.m. EST in the States. The shelf release follows on June 2, 2026. The Regiment of Renown, dice, and warscroll cards are while-stocks-last items, so if you want those specifically, ordering early is the safer play.
What’s in the new Cities of Sigmar Battletome?
The Battletome carries the lore, artwork, miniatures galleries, and warscrolls for the full Cities of Sigmar range. There’s also a gamer’s edition, while stocks last, that comes in a smaller format and includes 66 reference cards in the box, designed for the player who wants the rules at the table rather than on the shelf.
Can any Age of Sigmar army take a Cogfort?
Yes. Every Age of Sigmar faction can field a Cogfort as a Regiment of Renown. The kit builds either the Cannonade variant with the godbreaker cannon or the Conqueror variant with the realmscorcher flame cannon, and the cosmetic options on the kit mean it doesn’t have to read as a Cities of Sigmar piece if you’re running it for a different army.
What’s in the Zenestra’s Zealots Spearhead?
The Spearhead box contains Pontifex Zenestra on her sacred palanquin, a Freeguild Marshal, a Relic Envoy, six Freeguild Command Corps, and 10 Steelhelms. It’s a complete Spearhead-format force out of the box, and every unit is also legal in standard Age of Sigmar games.
Are the Vostroyan Firstborn legal in current 40k?
Yes. The Vostroyan Firstborn use the rules for current 40k Astra Militarum regiments like the Cadians, so they’re tabletop-legal in any 40k game where you want the fur-hatted Imperial Guard aesthetic.
When does the Vostroyan Firstborn Made to Order window close?
The order window stays open until 8am BST on 25 May 2026. Shipping happens within 180 days of ordering, so the model in your hand arrives sometime in the back half of 2026.
Final Thoughts on Cities of Sigmar Pre-Orders
Cities of Sigmar has been the half-finished AoS faction for a couple of years, and this wave finally hands the range the model support it needs since the 2024 battletome.
Opening the Cogfort to every Age of Sigmar faction as a Regiment of Renown is the smart play, too, if GW wants the kit selling beyond Cities players. Plus, the rest of the wave gives the faction its first proper modernization as well.
Over on the 40k side, the Vostroyan Firstborn MTO is a quiet bonus for anyone who missed those metals back in 2018.
🔗 Related Reads:
- AoS Cities of Sigmar Spearhead: Full Review & Value Breakdown
- AoS Roadmap: 2026 New Releases Guide (Updated)
- Games Workshop New Releases & Warhammer Roadmap
- GW Pre-Order Time: What You Need to Know
- Vostroyan Firstborn MTO: Full Lineup Returns Since 2018
- All Age of Sigmar Coverage at Spikey Bits
Will you be picking up the new Cities of Sigmar pre-order wave on the 16th, or sitting this one out and waiting for the points dust to settle?
