Games Workshop’s Sunday Preview revealed the new 11th Edition 40k Space Marines Codex and standalone Armageddon kits, hitting pre-order this Saturday.
If you’ve got a half-built Space Marine army sitting on the desk, Saturday is going to give you plenty to think about now. GW revealed the full lineup Sunday morning, with the Codex coming in three versions, four core kits getting redone, a brand-new character joining the range, and the Armageddon units finally breaking out into their own boxes for anyone who passed on all the new 11th Edition Space Marines in the Armageddon box earlier this year.
The 40k Codex release schedule already had Marines lined up for this window, but this is a lot more than a book drop. New rules, refreshed kits, and the standalone Armageddon releases are all showing up together, so all the Space Marine players who’ve been waiting to see what changed finally have the whole picture in front of them.
So, let’s run through what GW is putting up for pre-order.
Warhammer 40k: New Pre-Order Releases
This week’s Warhammer 40k pre-orders are pretty much Space Marine central, with the new Codex and a pile of plastic arriving in the same wave. If you’re waiting on other factions, there are still plenty more releases to keep track of.
These go up for pre-order on Saturday, September 19, around 1 p.m. EST in the States, with a street date of Saturday, October 3, for store shelves.
If you’re still waiting on something else to drop, you can check the latest lineup in our updated Warhammer Roadmap for 2026.
Captain on Bike
The new Captain comes with three weapon options, five heads, and a choice between having the bike in motion or stopped with one foot down. For a character most players are only going to build once, that’s a decent amount of control over how he looks.
We’d take the foot-down build. It makes the Captain look like he’s actually stopped to give orders instead of blasting past everybody, and the arm holding the master-crafted power weapon sits much more naturally that way.
One thing to watch before ordering: this one is delayed in Japan and South Korea, so he won’t be part of Saturday’s launch there.
Captain on Bike Hobby Tips
Keep the rider separate while you’re working on the bike. Paint the frame, exhausts, and front plate with the Captain on his own handle, then drop him into the saddle once all the awkward spots are finished.
Outrider Squad
The new Outrider Squad has three bikes, ten heads, and a sergeant who can carry either a power sword or thunder hammer. Outriders spent most of 10th Edition getting picked because they moved fast, not because anyone was especially excited about building them.
Seven unhelmeted heads for a three-model squad is almost excessive, in a good way, and the extra pouches and spare bits should help keep all three riders from looking like copies of the same model.
Plus, the thunder hammer also gives the sergeant some real punch once the squad finally makes contact.
Outrider Squad Hobby Tips
Build the bikes first and leave the riders off until the frames are painted. Magnetizing the sergeant’s weapon arm also makes sense here, since the sword and hammer can suit very different jobs depending on what the rest of your list is doing.
Vanguard Veteran Squad with Jump Packs
All five Vanguard Veterans can take combat shields, with power swords and power axes covering the master-crafted weapon options. The sergeant gets a relic blade that can be swapped for either a power fist or thunder hammer.
Getting enough shields for the whole squad is probably the nicest change here. The old kit only gave you a couple, so anyone trying to build a full shield unit usually had to dig through another box or hunt around for spare bits.
GW showed both the more traditional assault-style build and the shield-wall version in the preview shots, and they look different enough that you could easily build them as separate units on the shelf.
Vanguard Veteran Squad with Jump Packs Hobby Tips
Save the jump packs for last. Prime them separately and paint the vents and exhaust glow before they go anywhere near the torsos, because once those packs are glued on, getting a brush behind them is miserable.
Intercessor Squad
The updated Intercessors come with 13 helmets spread across three marks, plus a power sword, power fist, and a back banner for the sergeant. Yes, the Intercessors finally get their back banners after hobbyists have been asking about them since the squad first launched.
Intercessors have been one of the plainest units in the Marine range for years. Thirteen helmets in one box feels a little like GW finally admitting it.
Having three armor marks together also gives you a much easier way to make the squad look like it’s been through a few centuries of replacements and resupply instead of getting ten perfectly matching helmets straight from the Chapter armory.
Intercessor Squad Hobby Tips
Either stick with one helmet mark across the squad or mix them deliberately. Grabbing whatever happens to be left on the sprue can make an otherwise finished unit look like you never quite decided what you were doing with it.
Kaius Konorius
Kaius Konorius is a blademaster who taught close combat on Macragge, fought alongside Marneus Calgar and Chaplain Cassius when all three were neophytes, and now serves as the Chapter Master’s personal champion.
Konorius also protects the Leader of whatever unit he joins from Precision attacks, giving Marine players a direct answer to character sniping.
He’s delayed in Japan as well.
Kaius Konorius Hobby Tips
He’s one model, so this is where you can afford to slow down a little. Paint the blade separately and give the full length a clean edge highlight, because that sword is always where your eye goes first.
Standalone Armageddon Kits
Champions of Armageddon packages the Chaplain with Jump Pack, Ancient, and three Eradicators with Heavy Bolters together. The Eradicators are also getting their own box if you just want more of the unit, while the Land Speeder returns with a choice between an onslaught gatling cannon and pyrecannon.
There is one catch with these releases: they’re all in their original push-fit incarnations, so you’re getting the same sculpts from the Armageddon box rather than new multipart versions. If that box is already sitting on your shelf, these releases let you add more of the same models without buying the whole thing again.
Champions of Armageddon and the Land Speeder are both delayed in Japan.
Space Marines Codex
The new Space Marines Codex runs 232 pages, with collecting guides, updated datasheets, and a look inside a Space Marine fortress monastery. There are three versions: a softback in a slipcase, a Collector’s Edition with a wraparound hardback cover and gold foil, and a Limited Edition packed with six swappable metal cover badges, six art prints, a metal Crux Terminatus, and the full Command Pack.
If you’re buying the Codex to actually play 40k, the regular book has everything you need. The Limited Edition has plenty of collector extras, but you’re still bringing the same rules to the table.
Both the Collector’s and Limited Editions are listed as while stocks last, so if you’re set on getting either one, Saturday probably isn’t the time for a leisurely browse.
Either way, we already know the Codex cuts model counts across the board and gives every major Chapter a new detachment; so be sure to look for more new rules previews leading up to when all these products are actually avaialbe to order.
Command Pack: Space Marines and Dice
The Command Pack has 94 reference cards covering every detachment in the book and 24 double-sided tokens for tracking Combat Doctrines and secured objectives. The separate dice set includes 16 silver dice with black pips and a Crux Terminatus on the six face.
The Command Pack and dice are both listed as while stocks last, which is a weird choice for something a new Marine player might want six months from now.
Black Library: New Pre-Order Releases
The Black Library side of this week’s pre-orders has a new Helbrecht novel, a paperback return, and two omnibus collections. So even if your pile of unread Warhammer books is already getting out of hand, there are a few more trying to get onto it.
Helbrecht: Sin of Hope
Mike Vincent’s new novel sends High Marshal Helbrecht back on crusade against the Ruinous Powers after the Black Templars Chapter Master catches a glimpse of an Imperium that actually gets better.
Just don’t expect the Special Edition to show up with everything else on Saturday. This item pre-orders on Wednesday, September 23, at 3 p.m. UK time, while stocks last, while the standard hardback is the one you can grab in the normal pre-order window.
Master of Rites
Rob Young’s Master of Rites sends Ferren Areios, Captain of the Ultramarines Sixth Company, into the Khorsari Reach to reclaim worlds from the Death Guard after a decade under Nurgle. Finishing the job pushes him beyond what his Chapter’s creed says a Captain should be willing to do.
This is a new paperback edition, so keep in mind it’s a re-release rather than the book’s debut.
Dawn of Fire: Crusade of Vengeance
Crusade of Vengeance collects the first three Dawn of Fire novels in one omnibus: Avenging Son by Guy Haley, The Gate of Bones by Andy Clark, and The Wolftime by Gav Thorpe.
If you’ve been putting Dawn of Fire off because the series now has more books in it than the Imperium had Primarchs, this is the easy way to start reading it.
The Sundering
The Sundering collects Gav Thorpe’s Malerion, Shadow King, and Caledor, along with the novella The Bloody-Handed and the short story The Dark Path.
It’s the elf civil war that set the High Elves and Dark Elves against each other for the rest of Warhammer Fantasy, and with the Old World back on shelves, the timing for another collected edition makes sense to us.
Final Thoughts on the Space Marines Codex Pre-Orders
After this week, we’re watching for the Chapter supplements. GW has run Chapter supplements behind every Marine Codex going back to eighth Edition, and with six First Founding icons stamped onto that Limited Edition cover, we’d guess those are already somewhere in the pipe as a full release, besides the downloadable rules sets they said would come out when the codex drops.
🔗 Related Reads:
- All New 11th Edition Space Marines in the Armageddon Box
- New Space Marine Codex Buffs Marines but Cuts Model Counts
- Every Major Chapter’s New 11th Edition Detachment
- Space Marines Intercessors Finally Get Their Back Banners
- New 40k Codex Release Schedule for 11th Edition
- New Warhammer 40k 2026 Roadmap and Release Schedule
What do you think of the new Space Marines Codex pre-orders?
