What is Space Marine Heroes Series 4, what minis are included, and what’s going on with this Warhammer Heroes release?
Hobbyists who wanted Strike Force Justian for Kill Team didn’t get to grab the boxes at their local game store. Series 4 (now called Warhammer Heroes) skipped the usual hobby retail channel entirely and went to big box stores, and for seven long months, US shoppers had no idea where to find them at all.
Finally, the release surfaced at Target in April 2024, then sold out almost immediately.
What GW Originally Said (September 2023)
On Saturday, September 9th, 2023, Games Workshop announced that Series 4 would be available through retailers rather than the Warhammer webstore. Most hobbyists read “retailers” and assumed it meant their local game store.
Sadly, in every region that received the models, that’s not what happened because the boxes went to specific big-box and bookstore partners, and the US received no launch announcement at all.
The answer for US hobbyists didn’t happen until April 21st, 2024, when GW posted a US availability update, and a Target product page went live for the Warhammer Heroes box.
Finally, seven months of “coming soon, somewhere” were resolved to one retailer.
Here was the original solicitation from GW back in September of 2023 for the Space Marines Heroes 4:
These models will initially be available from the following stockists in these regions:
- Canada: GameStop Canada and independent retailers
- Germany: Muller and GameStop
- Japan: Surugaya stores, Furuhon Ichiba stores, and independent retailers
- Vietnam: Fahasa
- Thailand: Asia Books
They will also be available in independent retailers in the UK, USA, Australia, China, Europe, and New Zealand. They may well be coming to more regions and in other formats in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!
What WarCom Said (September 2023) and Why It Confused Buyers
The latest on Space Marines Heroes 4 is from Warhammer Community.
The Space Marine Heroes series of collectible blind box miniatures returns, now known as Warhammer Heroes, with a new set of lucky dip models. Series 4 comprises seven new miniatures from a variety of Space Marine squads, featuring Intercessors, an Assault Intercessor, a Heavy Intercessor, an Eliminator, and even a Captain, all entirely new for this set. They will be available in retailers across the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and Australia – but note that you won’t be able to buy them directly from the Games Workshop webstore.
The natural read of “retailers” is the local game store, but as we saw, that’s not what GW meant. When pre-order week rolled around in September 2023, Series 4 wasn’t on the trade sales sheet sent to independent stores, so local shops couldn’t order the boxes even if they wanted to.
(BTW- the trade sales sheet is the weekly new-release list GW sends to its independent retailer network, and it’s how local stores decide what to stock for any given Saturday.)
Series 4 wasn’t on it, and it’s not on the sheet; local shops never had the option in the first place.
As you can see, the SM Heroes box was entirely removed from the trade sales new releases sheet, confirming that independent game stores worldwide were never offered the boxes.
These boxes have since been released in every region except the US, which finally announced them on April 21st, 2024.
Warhammer Heroes Series 4 Comes to Target
After seven months of US shoppers staring at an empty announcement, the Warhammer Heroes Strike Force Justian blind boxes went live on Target’s website on April 21st, 2024.
Target listed them with a three-per-purchase cap, but didn’t slow things down much as the first wave went in under an hour.
Each box comes with one of seven Space Marines and its Kill Team datacard, which is honestly the part that makes the blind-box format a value in the first place for hobbyists: you can crack one open and have a playable operative ready that night from Strike Force Justian.
Big Box Stores Release Problems
Worse of all this isn’t the first GW release to take the big-box route and stumble. The Space Marine Board Game went the same way at Target the year before, following the same predictable pattern of FOMO, with limited windows, no local-store option, and resellers waiting for the resale flip.
For Series 4, the same playbook is running again, which is why the seven-month US gap and the under-an-hour sell-out aren’t really a surprise at all…
Space Marine Heroes 4 Sold Out & Are Missing Again
Update: a day after the Games Workshop announcement for the US and subsequent sell-out, we just got a notification that these items were back in stock again at Target. So, it is possible that these may be available as stock levels fluctuate within Target’s distribution network.
Final Thoughts on the Space Marines Heroes Series 4 for Warhammer Heroes That Are So Hard To Find
Sadly, the Space Marines Heroes Series 4 box has already sold out at Target. We had a Target restock notification set on the listing, and the alert flipped from in-stock to sold out within an hour of the GW US announcement. Some Target locations may still get shelf shipments through their distribution network, so their store stock is worth checking the next time you’re in one.
We all know the eBay markup is going to happen regardless, just as it did with Combat Arena Lair of the Beast.
So, if you don’t want to pay resale, the best move is to set a Target restock alert on the product page, swing by your local Target store to check the shelves (in-store stock doesn’t always match the website), and watch independent retailers in regions still receiving fresh stock.
What do you think about the fact that this new Games Workshop Space Marine heroes release went missing only to sell out in less than an hour?
