Promotional banner featuring a green armored battle-mech with a large chain-sword on the right, gold background, winged skull emblem, and the hashtag #NEW40K.

Astra Militarum Momentum Builds With New Detachments, Vostroyan Nostalgia, and a Kill Team Monster Hunt

The latest Warhammer Community batch gives the Imperial side plenty to chew on. First, the Guard finally gets a clearer look in the new edition.

Meanwhile, hobby nostalgia is back in force with one of the game’s most beloved metal regiments. Then Kill Team leans harder into cinematic survival horror, while Warhammer TV throws painters and RPG fans a decent spread of bonus content. Taken together, this feels like a very deliberate week of feeding Guard players, old collectors, and campaign-minded hobbyists all at once.

The Astra Militarum detachments look broader, smarter, and much less one-note

Astra Militarum detachment

The Astra Militarum faction focus is the big story, because it shows three very different directions for the army right away.

Poster titled 'Detachment Rules' with 'Absolutist Principles' describing commanders overseeing auxiliary platoons, issuing orders to ABHUMAN units, and rules about detachment and order issuance.

First, Abhuman Auxiliaries turns Bullgryns, Ogryns, and Ratlings into a real detachment identity, with Commissars able to issue orders to ABHUMAN units and even hand out Take Aim! more broadly.

Upgrade card for Exemplar of Duty in a tabletop game; Commissar model only with Feel No Pain 4+.

So, Bullgryn bricks get nastier under melee orders, while Ratlings become even more irritating by shooting without losing Hidden through Low Profile.

Strategy card 'Low Profile' for Abhuman Auxiliaries Stratagem. Ratling snipers scout advantageous points to stay hidden while firing. WHEN a friendly RATLINGs unit shoots; TARGET that RATLINGs unit; EFFECT ranged attacks do not prevent it from being hidden.

Meanwhile, Exemplar of Duty gives a Commissar Feel No Pain 4+, which is exactly the sort of stubborn battlefield fossil Guard players love.

Teal Warhammer 40K battle scene with numerous armored tanks, infantry, and a hovering aircraft amid smoke and ruins.

Then Bridgehead Strike pivots hard into Militarum Tempestus play.

Astra Militarum rules

Tempestus Scions become Battleline and gain +1 Objective Control if a Tempestus Officer is your Warlord, while units that arrive that turn shoot at +1 to hit.

Enhancements card showing Priority Drop Beacon with rules for Militarum Tempestus officers, enabling an ingress move in the first Movement phase (model only).

That already makes deep-striking objective flips much scarier, and Priority Drop Beacon pushes the pressure earlier by letting an officer ingress in your first Movement phase.

Firing Hot card titled Bridgehead Strike Stratagem explaining risks of overcharged power packs and its effects when firing at MILITARUM units.

Finally, Designation Force is the recon version of the Guard fantasy.

Green-armored Warhammer 40K troops advance with tanks and walkers amid rubble; logo reads Warhammer Community in the corner.

Scout Sentinels and smoke-tagged infantry can designate targets with Signal Flares, expanding detection range against hidden enemies, while Long-Range Scout grants Infiltrators to a Scout Sentinel and Sump-Smog Screen makes return fire much more annoying.

Infographic poster about detachment rules and designated targets, detailing a Scout Sentinel unit's Signal Flares and designation rules for enemies within range.
Enhancements card: Long-Range Scout upgrade with description about Scout Sentinels and Infiltrators, for a game UI.
Game card titled Sump-Smog Screen: Designation Force Stratagem; describes concealing smoke and a cover bonus for Astra Militarum infantry during shooting phase, when activated.

Altogether, the Guard now look less like one static gunline and more like a toolbox army with abhuman anvils, elite drop troops, and proper forward scouts.

Vostroya returns with exactly the kind of ornate metal swagger people missed

Group of painted dwarf soldiers in red and bronze armor, some with rifles and swords, and a banner, on round bases.

The Vostroyan Made to Order announcement is shorter, but it has a lot of emotional pull. Back in 2006, the Vostroyan Firstborn arrived as one of those instantly memorable regiments, full of tall fur hats, engraved weapons, and that unique mix of aristocratic pride and industrial guilt. Warhammer Community leans into that background here, reminding readers that every firstborn child on Vostroya is pledged to Imperial service as penance for the world’s failure during the Horus Heresy, and that each recruit inherits ornate wargear handed down through generations.

Three painted Warhammer miniatures in red coats with gas masks, each armed with large rifles, on textured bases.

So, the range still feels rich with story before a dice is ever rolled. The Made to Order wave is also pretty generous. The main platoon bundles a Command Squad, 20 Guardsmen, and three lascannon teams, while separate options include a 10-man squad, a Command Squad, three alternate Commanders, individual special weapon troopers, sniper pairs, and heavy weapon teams with heavy bolter, lascannon, and mortar choices.

Two painted Warhammer miniatures in red coats and gear, positioned on rocky bases with rifles drawn, one standing and aiming while the other crouches with a heavy weapon.

Moreover, Warhammer explicitly says they still work cleanly as stand-ins for modern Astra Militarum units like Cadian Shock Troops and Heavy Weapons Squads. That matters a lot, because it means this is not just a shelf-piece resurrection. It is a real invitation to put one of the best old Guard ranges back on the table.

The Red Terror looks like the kind of Kill Team boss that changes how people play

Warhammer miniature battle in a dark cavern: red dragon-like monsters swarm armored soldiers amid rocky ruins and blue-lit doors in the background.

The Kill Team article does a good job selling the Red Terror as more than just a big model with a bigger profile. At the core is a two-state system, where the creature flips between Hunt and Lurk datacards depending on whether it is actively rampaging or tunnelling underground to recover.

Red Terror (Hunt) mission card showing stats, rules, and two NPO abilities with APL, move, save, and wounds indicators at top and a detailed stat block below.

So, even dropping it to zero Wounds does not really solve the problem. Instead, it disappears, regenerates, and threatens to come back later, which is a much better monster-movie rhythm than simply blasting it until it falls over.

Red Terror (Lurk) NPO card showing stats (AP, Move, Save, Wounds) and two panels with rules and data text for the character boss in a game.

Meanwhile, the Activation Deck keeps the pressure uneven by randomly choosing whether the Red Terror or its smaller Tyranid companions activate, with 10 Termagants and a Ripper Swarm filling out the NPO side. That means clearing lesser beasts buys breathing room, because dead gribblies can cause skipped activations. However, the most interesting part is that some missions are not about killing the beast at all. In scenarios like On the Trail, players start by destroying xenos tunnels before the monster can even arrive, and once it does, survival and distraction matter more than brute force.

Tabletop Warhammer battle scene with armored troops fighting red, dinosaur-like aliens amid large rusted machinery and crates.

The linked Terror on Devlan missions also form a branching campaign intended for Spectre Squad, though any kill team can attempt it. As a result, this sounds much closer to a narrative survival campaign than a standard skirmish add-on, and honestly that is where Kill Team gets weird in the best way.

Warhammer TV rounds the week out with painting inspiration and a few extra reasons to log in

Warhammer Space Marines miniatures on display with a circular inset portrait of a bearded man and Painting Desk branding in the corner.

The Warhammer TV article is lighter, but it still rounds out the week nicely. First, Painting Desk brings in Martin Peterson, an 11-time Golden Demon winner, to talk through three recent entries and how he keeps improving beyond the traditional ’Eavy Metal house style.

Group of Warhammer 40k space marines posed on a rocky diorama battlefield with weapons drawn, front and center figures ready for combat.

His record alone is impressive, with awards stretching from an Imperial Fists Duel piece in 2002 through multiple Space Wolves successes, a Word Bearers gold in 2019, and even Age of Sigmar recognition for a Fellwater Troggoth and a Darkoath Warband.

Two men chat over a detailed Warhammer miniatures board on a tabletop; HOW WE ROLL logo bottom-left, Warhammer Community top-right.

Meanwhile, the article also plugs a new How We Roll episode with Jimbo discussing scenery and battlefield design in Age of Sigmar, plus a Deep Strike interview with Cubicle 7 about Soulbound, Wrath & Glory, and Imperium Maledictum.

Two men smile at a table displaying Warhammer Imperium Maledictum starter sets and game accessories, with Warhammer Community and Deep Strike logos in frame

On top of that, White Dwarf 515 has entered the Vault, and Warhammer+ subscribers can enter an Ultra PRO prize draw by signing into Warhammer TV between 6 May and 2 June 2026, while existing and new subscribers before 2 June also get a code for Mataneo in Tacticus. So, this final piece is less about hard news and more about hobby momentum.

Warhammer Vault magazine cover featuring Space Marines in action with the bold SPACE MARINES title and 'A POWER-ARMoured EXTRAVAGANZA' subtitle.
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Sam
The resident Flames of War, Historical, and narrative gaming expert. I have been playing tabletop games for 20 years with armies for 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, Horus Heresy, Age of Sigmar, Flames of War, Legions Imperialis, Battlefleet Gothic, and even Titanicus. I love narrative campaigns above all and dabble in customs missions too.

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