The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant (Second Campaign/Lore Book Set)

[Lord Marshal]

Crucible of Champions preview.

 

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The new Crucible of Champions book that comes as part of The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant is all about crafting your own legendary champions to fight alongside – or even lead – your Warhammer 40,000 army. Each faction* has a spread of easy-to-use rules that makes it simple to whip up characterful heroes with a range of weapons and abilities, perfect for piratical Raid and Ruin campaigns** or narrative Crusades that can develop their legend further. 

 

It all starts with an archetype, which gives our paragon their basic characteristics, keywords, abilities, and points value. It might set them up as a Space Marine officer leading units with the Tacticus keyword, or an Ork Warphead able to equip Psychic weapons and abilities. These form the foundation of your character, and are modified by everything that comes after.

 

 

You can then pick a Specialism, which typically modifies the champion’s core characteristics and keywords, and may change what units it can join. A Craftworld Warleader may throw on a Cameleoline Cloak, for example, gaining the Stealth and Infiltrator rules and letting them join Ranger units. You won’t always have a valid Specialism to choose, but you don’t always need one either – call it a sidegrade.

 

After that are abilities, and you do need to pick one of these – not that you wouldn’t want to. These cover an enormous variety of extra skills that really hone what your character is all about, whether it’s fixing vehicles, defending against psychic attacks, inspiring allies, or anything else. Want to represent a Cadre Fireblade with a particular knack for outmanoeuvring enemies? Take the Cunning Ambush ability and fake out their deployment decisions.

 

 

Finally, you’ll need to select a few weapons to carry into battle, with certain archetypes and Specialisms expanding or restricting your options. There are tons to pick from, and converting your miniatures to use some of the stranger options is a great test of your hobbying prowess. Let your creativity flow – your first two weapons are free, and any others only cost 5 points each!

To illustrate just how flexible these rules are, we’re going to make some datasheets for some of our favourite converted miniatures ever – the Lords of War from the Grand Narrative 2024, who took to the battlefield in a big Kill Team melee as players closed in.

Rogue Trader Kristovahl Dynost III 

 

Imperial Agents can give the Martial Agent archetype the Rogue Trader Specialism, so they can join a bodyguard of Voidsmen or Navy Breachers. Having the ROGUE TRADER keyword also means they can take the Backroom Deals ability, which gives their squad the Infiltrators rule – a great approximation for the strange xenos artifact Kristovahl recovered that allowed her to teleport into forward positions.

 

 

A pristine power sword is the perfect close combat weapon for such a dignified character – even if the one on her model looks a little Aeldari for our pious Imperial eyes – and no Rogue Trader would be caught dead without a brace of ornate firearms, so we gave her two fearsome household pistols.

Glitcha da Psykamekk

Glitcha was a Big Mek with the stature of a Warboss, so we started with the Hordeboss archetype and the Top-tier Gubbinz Specialism to add the MEK keyword and make sure he can lead his flashiest lads. His ingenious Wurrzot Machine projected a force field around both him and his dreaded killsphere, so the Kustom Force Field ability made sense – and giving his whole unit a 4+ invulnerable save against ranged attacks is nothing to sniff at!

 

 

As far as weapons went, Glitcha was mighty proud of his enormous kustom job. We represented this with the kustom mega-blasta, while his more restrained (for an Ork) klaw seemed a good fit for the power snappa. We could also have made a version of his loyal grot underling, Zoggit, but… well, he didn’t make it.

Zar Tahyed, the Shepherd of Souls

 

The Dark Apostle known as Zar Tahyed presented a bit more of a challenge, as the Chaos Space Marines don’t have an archetype for a mortal cultist leader, but we eventually reasoned that his success in attaining the dreaded Nightblade of Kren’na’garh made him swell with enough Warp energy that he bulked out and became a Sorcerous Champion. Those robes are just power armour in disguise, trust us.

 

 

None of the archetypes really fit his story or abilities, so we elected not to take one, though his stirring oratory and fiery charisma made the powerful Dark Zealotry ability – letting his whole unit add 1 to their Wound rolls – a clear winner. While we could give him an exalted weapon and call it a day, we felt that sold the immense Nightblade a little short, so opted instead for the axe of dismemberment’s rules. He also gets a balefire tome to cast at his foes before he runs them through in close combat.

 

We’ve only scratched the surface of what you can make with the Crucible of Champions rules, and the best part is you can use them in any Warhammer 40,000 game where all players agree it’s OK, so try out some kooky combinations and build your hero’s story across multiple battles. Pre-order The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant this Saturday and show us what you can create!

 

* Except Imperial and Chaos Knights – whose big guys are already Characters in their own right.

** Also part of The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant.

 

 

Edited February 9 by Lord Marshal

[SvenIronhand]

I'm really curious as to where that servo-arm backpack the IW in the first picture has came from.

[Joe]

Premise is interesting. Definitely shades of Sigmar's approach in areas. Given 40k's built a backbone on copying Sigmar's homework, often not particularly well, I'll be curious to see how this pans out - particularly if it persists into 11E.

 

Much the same as the broader game, any imbalances will require local communities to work around. Be it removing problem players from the group or otherwise.

[Morovir]

19 minutes ago, SvenIronhand said:

I'm really curious as to where that servo-arm backpack the IW in the first picture has came from.

I think it's on one of the Havoc backpacks.

[Mogger351]

28 minutes ago, Joe said:

Premise is interesting. Definitely shades of Sigmar's approach in areas. Given 40k's built a backbone on copying Sigmar's homework, often not particularly well, I'll be curious to see how this pans out - particularly if it persists into 11E.

 

Much the same as the broader game, any imbalances will require local communities to work around. Be it removing problem players from the group or otherwise.

I wouldn't be shocked if something similar appears in the 11th codex waves.

[LSM]

37 minutes ago, Morovir said:

I think it's on one of the Havoc backpacks.

 

Yeah - it's a Havoc backpack (to go with the Missile Launcher, so it has the little loading arm) with a "Cognis Flamer" from the Kataphron Destroyers kit, and some other bits-and-bobs stuck on top.

 

(Whoever did the conversions also used Kataphron heads for their Havocs, which looks great.)

Edited February 9 by LSM

[Joe]

59 minutes ago, Mogger351 said:

I wouldn't be shocked if something similar appears in the 11th codex waves.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic. I like what they've shown off so far - and the preview article from the event indicated it might be relatively broad. In some ways, I feel like this is a better approach for handling "your guys" on the table? It not being limited to simply HQs, but also extending to vehicles and such like the Sentinel, has some incredible possibilities from a narrative sense.

[Indy Techwisp]

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the Chaos Space Marines don’t have an archetype for a mortal cultist leader

 

Y'know that feels like a massive oversight for CSM to not have the option of an actual Cultist hero in this without just reskinning a normal Marine.

[ThaneOfTas]

53 minutes ago, Indy Techwisp said:

Y'know that feels like a massive oversight for CSM to not have the option of an actual Cultist hero in this without just reskinning a normal Marine.

Yeah honestly that is the one part of the preview that concerns me, it indicates that this won't be quite as open or have as much variety as I may have hoped.

 

It's still likely better than the nothing that we have in 10th natively so I'll take it.

[Karhedron]

22 hours ago, ThaneOfTas said:

Confirmed by WarComm that the Crucible of Champions rules are Narrative only.

 

Not surprising but still disappointing. That is a lost sale from me.

[SvenIronhand]

22 hours ago, ThaneOfTas said:

Confirmed by WarComm that the Crucible of Champions rules are Narrative only.

 

Also we will be getting a look at what will be involved at some point this week

Yet they say in the article you can use it in Matched Play with your opponent’s permission?

[Osteoclast]

1 hour ago, SvenIronhand said:

Yet they say in the article you can use it in Matched Play with your opponent’s permission?

Can’t you do just about anything you want in Matched Play with opponents permission?

[ThaneOfTas]

1 hour ago, SvenIronhand said:

Yet they say in the article you can use it in Matched Play with your opponent’s permission?

Well yeah but so can Legends, so functionally its Narrative only

[Mogger351]

1 hour ago, ThaneOfTas said:

Well yeah but so can Legends, so functionally its Narrative only

Unless you agree it's matched play, then it's not.

 

Not being facetious, legitimately the only division between narrative and matched play is player agreement. They're artifical constructs.

[ThaneOfTas]

1 hour ago, Osteoclast said:

Can’t you do just about anything you want in Matched Play with opponents permission?

 

9 minutes ago, Mogger351 said:

the only division between narrative and matched play is player agreement. They're artifical constructs.

You're not wrong, but it also rather defeats the point of there being a differentiation between Matched Play, Narrative Play and Open Play. The default assumption for Matched play is using the most up to date tournament style rules, perfectly symmetrical terrain and no Narrative style missions or Legends units. For Narrative however Legends being allowed is the default, as are more naturally laid out terrain with greater variety. 

 

Obviously you can choose to allow whatever you like into a matched play game so long as your opponent agrees, just like you could choose not to allow any legends units at a narrative table. But the point of something being marked as being matched play legal is whether or not it being allowed is the default assumption. And for thses rules, clearly it isnt the default.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

I’m excited about this.

i can’t wait to see the options.

 

13 hours ago, SvenIronhand said:

I'm really curious as to where that servo-arm backpack the IW in the first picture has came from.

Looks like the one on my guard tech priest from like 4th or 5th ed

[Karhedron]

11 hours ago, Mogger351 said:

Not being facetious, legitimately the only division between narrative and matched play is player agreement. They're artifical constructs.

 

In some places that gulf is so wide that anything not in the official codex might as well not exist. Forgeworld used to release such broken OTT rules that everyone in my local gaming group assumes that anyone bringing a Legends unit is a WAAC player, regardless of the fact that has not been true for nearly 2 editions now.

[ChapterMasterGodfrey]

12 hours ago, ThaneOfTas said:

You're not wrong, but it also rather defeats the point of there being a differentiation between Matched Play, Narrative Play and Open Play. The default assumption for Matched play is using the most up to date tournament style rules, perfectly symmetrical terrain and no Narrative style missions or Legends units. For Narrative however Legends being allowed is the default, as are more naturally laid out terrain with greater variety. 

 

Obviously you can choose to allow whatever you like into a matched play game so long as your opponent agrees, just like you could choose not to allow any legends units at a narrative table. But the point of something being marked as being matched play legal is whether or not it being allowed is the default assumption. And for thses rules, clearly it isnt the default.

What even is Narrative Play? Matched is Matched and all strict, Open is put down random :cuss: and roll dice. I don't see where "Narrative" comes into it? I was under the assumption Crusade was still Matched.

[Evil Eye]

I genuinely don't see why you would even bother playing Matched at this point. Given that the big problem with Narrative in 8th and 9th was no wargear costs, and we don't have those anymore anyway, Matched is just Narrative with any shred of flavour or variety sucked out.

[NorthernUltramarines]

1 minute ago, Evil Eye said:

I genuinely don't see why you would even bother playing Matched at this point. Given that the big problem with Narrative in 8th and 9th was no wargear costs, and we don't have those anymore anyway, Matched is just Narrative with any shred of flavour or variety sucked out.

 

It's easier if you're just meeting people for a game, as you both understand walking into it what the rules/expectations of a list are. Also makes balancing the game easier for tournaments (local or otherwise) as everyone has a standard baseline of what can be taken.

[Vassakov]

Just now, Evil Eye said:

I genuinely don't see why you would even bother playing Matched at this point. Given that the big problem with Narrative in 8th and 9th was no wargear costs, and we don't have those anymore anyway, Matched is just Narrative with any shred of flavour or variety sucked out.

 

I mean, just to bite... if you often go to tournament events because you feel that having a day/weekend rolling dice with likeminded people and generally having a bit of fun, then yes - Matched is the system you play. 

 

And I say this as someone who also plays Crusade as well.

[NorthernUltramarines]

24 minutes ago, Vassakov said:

 

I mean, just to bite... if you often go to tournament events because you feel that having a day/weekend rolling dice with likeminded people and generally having a bit of fun, then yes - Matched is the system you play. 

 

And I say this as someone who also plays Crusade as well.

 

Same! Absolutely love Crusade, but if you're meeting people for the first time or in a tournament I've always found matched is the better system.

[Lord Marshal]

More Crucible of Champions examples from the WarCom peeps.

 

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Graeme

 

My first project of 2026 is a Necrons army, so when I got my hands on Crucible of Champions, I eagerly checked what I could add to my undying legion, and the idea of a noble who’s fallen to the Flayer’s curse immediately grabbed me – helped by the fact that I recently read Nate Crowley’s The Twice-Dead King novels, which prominently feature Flayed Ones.

 

I grabbed a spare Overlord from the Combat Patrol set and a box of Flayed Ones, and started cutting and gluing. The actual kitbash was really simple – I chose a pair of arms that worked with the torso to make their pose look regal and terrifying, and swapped the head for one from the Flayed Ones sprue. I also cut away part of the Overlord’s decorative tassels to add a severed arm, and found another flayed skin piece from a Flesh-eater Courts kit to add to their back as a sort of demi-cloak. Royalty should always be stylish, after all. And thus was born Ashnasir the Excoriator.

 

 

The datasheet creation was even simpler, thanks to the singular focus of the miniature. They’re a Dynastic Conqueror with the Flayer Curse Specialism, Flayer claws, and the United In Destruction ability, because the idea of Flayed Ones gaining Lethal Hits on their claws tickles me – much like those claws will tickle the flesh of their enemies, albeit briefly before they start slicing. I’ve not taken them to the battlefield yet – largely because I need to paint some Flayed Ones for them to lead – but I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Rob

 

I may have gone a bit giddy when I first looked over the Crucible book, and since I have a sizable stash of spare parts within arm’s reach, it was difficult to stop at just one or two custom guys. 

 

I’ve always wanted another Leader for my T’au Pathfinder squads, as Darkstrider can’t be everywhere at once, so finding out I could modify the Shas’nel archetype with the Veteran Scout specialism to make this happen was an instant winner. The model itself was a fairly simple kitbash of Darkstrider and some leftover Pathfinder parts, though I stuck a wedge of cork on the base to straighten out the legs’ posture since Darkstrider is leaning much further forward than I wanted.

 

 

Even better, I can give him a rail rifle to contribute to the squad’s damage – and what damage. The Shas’nel archetype shares the Cadre Fireblade’s classic Volley Fire ability to add an extra shot to the unit’s ranged attacks, and Sub-commander Sharpspear applies it to rail rifles in the Pathfinder squad too. Double the firepower! The T’au agenda cannot be denied.

 

After getting him together, I couldn’t help but try to make some of the more unorthodox options. The Techmarine in Phobos armour was a pretty painless conversion that worked out nicely, while the Sentinel needed a bit more cutting and sawing to get the hatch panel to pop open.* The officer giving orders from above was made out of the Baneblade tank commander’s parts, tilted forwards so he looks like he’s leaning over the vehicle.

 

 

I had the most fun with Overlord Vesztakh, the Thronebound King, who I enjoyed making so much I even started painting him. I made him by using the Triarchal Overseer archetype and furnished it with an Overlord’s classic voidscythe and My Will Be Done ability so he’s more of a noble than an enforcer. The idea is that he’s so unbelievably arrogant that he refuses to step on ground touched by the common rabble, and so goes everywhere atop his Triarch Stalker instead.** 

Andy

One of my favourite parts of Warhammer is creating characters and lore for my armies, so the moment I saw these rules I was hooked. My first creation is a Champion of the Chapter to lead my Deathwing Terminator Assault Squad.

 

 

The body is actually a bunch of different Terminator parts spliced together: the back and cape comes from the Leviathan Terminator Captain, while the legs and tabard are from the regular Terminator Captain. The chest plate is from the Dark Angels upgrade sprue, and the head is left over from a Saturnine Terminator. 

 

I wanted to make my character really stand out from the rest of my Terminators, and chose to give him a lion pelt like the models of Lion El’Jonson and the Horus Heresy’s Corswain. This was taken from the Wolf Guard Terminators, with the wolf skull removed and replaced with a lion head from the Lion Chariots of Chrace. I imagine that as the Champion of the Deathwing, he was gifted this pelt by the Primarch in recognition of his martial skills. 

 

 

As a Deathwing Champion, my character would wield a Halberd of Caliban, so I grabbed one from the old Deathwing Command Squad that I had in my bits box. I used the head from that, but the haft was taken from a Grey Knight Terminator to allow it to be held one-handed in a sweeping gesture.

 

In terms of the rules, I had to choose the Terminator Armour Specialism to give him the appropriate profile, and I opted for the Tactical Precision ability to help boost his unit as he leads them into the fray. His halberd fits perfectly as a Great weapon of the Unforgiven. There were lots of ranged weapons I could have given him, but the classic Deathwing Champion model didn’t have a gun and I preferred the model to be pointing out his next target. He’ll just have to rely on his battle brethren to take care of the shooty side of things until I can convert a Watcher in the Dark to carry a plasma talon for him (yep, plasma talons are a gun option for Dark Angels characters!).

 

All that remained was to give him a name from one of the old Codex: Dark Angels name generators and invent a fancy title, and I had Zerachiel, Champion of the Deathwing, the Heir of Corswain.***

 

More and more custom characters are cropping up in Warhammer Community Towers every day, from Genestealer Cults psykers on dirt bikes and Khornate Jakhal champions to flying Drukhari Haemonculi and Librarian Dreadnoughts from the vaults of Baal. We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with, so make sure to pre-order The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant on Saturday and let your creativity flow!

* Yes, I could have just built a Scout Sentinel and left the roof out entirely, but I pictured him as more of a ‘front line brawler’ kind of guy.

** He thinks his epithet is regal, but really it’s his Crypteks mocking him for being stuck on his ‘throne’.

*** Before anyone starts thinking this is new official Warhammer lore – it’s just my army’s lore. These rules are for creating your own characters to lead your own forces, after all! Give your own champions whatever names you’d like.

 

 

Edited February 10 by Lord Marshal

[Nephaston]

1 hour ago, Lord Marshal said:

More Crucible of Champions examples from the WarCom peeps.

 

 

Now these are mind kind of brain worms; making characters that simply don't exist right now; Phobos Techmarines, Terminator Champions, Flayer Lords, Mounted Commanders, Leaders with heavy weapons.

 

Time to raid the bits box.

[Arikel]

This looks like the coolest warhammer “generic” characters have been for a long time. I wonder if it will be possible to finally make a proper Devastator captain with a heavy weapon?

 

The red corsair stuff looks really nice too. May have to invest in these rules.