Games Workshop’s latest 40K updates make a nice pairing. First, the Emperor’s Children finally get a proper faction focus.
Meanwhile, the Space Marines get a closer look at one classic kit from the Armageddon box. So, one article is all about army identity and detachment design. The other is a tight rules tease for a fast support vehicle. Together, they show two useful sides of the new edition. One builds faction flavor. The other shows how a single datasheet can change battlefield tempo.
Three Emperor’s Children detachments finally make the army feel fast, cruel, and gloriously self-obsessed
The Emperor’s Children preview is the bigger story, because it gives the faction three very different detachment lanes. First, Elegant Brutes is built around Terminators, and it immediately fixes one classic problem with elite melee units.
Eager to Kill gives friendly Emperor’s Children Terminator units +1 to charge when they are set up, which obviously helps after Deep Strike or disembarking from a Land Raider.
Meanwhile, Frenzied Ferocity can be given to up to three Terminator units and adds Sustained Hits 1, so the detachment clearly wants heavy infantry crashing in and overperforming on contact.
Then it adds a very Slaaneshi trick with Warp Plunge, a 1CP stratagem that lets an unengaged Terminator unit go back into Strategic Reserves at the end of the opponent’s Fight phase.
So, this detachment is not just about brute force. Instead, it is about repeat pressure, repositioning, and turning expensive killers into a recurring problem.
However, the article then shifts into Frenzied Host, which is much more about Battleline units. Tormentors and Infractors gain Frantic Focus, so when they Advance or Fall Back, their attacks get +1 Strength until the end of the turn. That alone gives the army a very different rhythm.
Moreover, the Howling Plate enhancement lets a Lord Exultant’s unit improve its ranged attacks by 1 AP, while Possessive Mania cuts incoming AP by 1 when a Battleline unit on an objective is targeted.
As a result, the detachment feels like a mobile mid-board bully that can both surge and cling.
Finally, Spectacle of Slaughter is built around the Flawless Blades, and it is probably the most openly theatrical of the three.
Entitled to Victory gives those units Fights First, Eager Patrons grants one unit +2 inches of Movement, and Single-minded Strike lets a charging Flawless Blades unit move through models other than Monsters and Vehicles.
So, the whole package looks like a faction designed to overrun screens, show off while doing it, and then punish anyone who assumed Slaanesh units would be fragile rather than efficient. Better still, Warhammer Community says each detachment costs 1 Detachment Point, which means you can combine them in a Strike Force game or mix them with existing Codex options.
The new Land Speeder looks like a fast flanking tool that finally earns its name again
The Land Speeder article is shorter, but it still says quite a lot. First, this is the updated version arriving in Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon, and Games Workshop clearly wants it to feel like a modernised classic rather than a nostalgia piece. It keeps the light, aggressive battlefield role, but now leans even harder into mobility and mixed firepower.
The article describes it as faster and more agile than the heavier Storm Speeders, and the numbers back that up with 14 inches of Movement plus the Purgation Run ability, which lets it duck back into cover after shooting. So, right away, it reads like a proper shoot-and-scoot nuisance.
Meanwhile, its loadout is heavier than you might expect for something this lean. It can take an onslaught gatling cannon or heavy flamer, while also carrying a multi-melta and stormfury missile launcher for anti-vehicle work. That makes it sound ideal for clipping infantry, tagging light armour, and forcing the enemy to respect awkward angles. However, the more interesting part may be the updated FLY rules shown alongside it.
Instead of awkward vertical measurement, a flying unit can declare it is taking to the skies, subtract 2 inches from the move, then ignore vertical distance and move through models and terrain while resolving that move. As a result, the Land Speeder looks tailor made for terrain-heavy boards where ordinary vehicles get bogged down. It also pairs neatly with the Fulguris Task Force, which Warhammer says is built to champion speeders of all kinds.
Altogether, this is a clean little reveal. The Emperor’s Children article shows a faction getting proper internal variety, while the Land Speeder piece shows how one old unit can become relevant again through a better role and cleaner movement rules.
