Cities of Sigmar March to War, Cogforts Roll Out, and the Vostroyans Return From the Vault
This is a big week for Warhammer, and it is a strange one in the best possible way. The headline release is clearly the massive new Cities of Sigmar wave for Warhammer Age of Sigmar, but tucked into the back of the lineup is one of those classic Made to Order returns that immediately grabs the attention of longtime Warhammer 40,000 players.
The new Cities of Sigmar range is doing exactly what the faction needed. It is expanding the army beyond basic infantry and commanders, giving it more identity, more battlefield presence, and a much stronger sense of “mortal soldiers standing against impossible horrors.” Then, just when you think the week is all Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop also brings back the Vostroyan Firstborn as Made to Order classics.
The Vostroyans are direct-only, so they will not be available through us, but they are way too cool not to talk about.
Cities of Sigmar Get Their Big Moment
The Cities of Sigmar have always been one of the more grounded factions in Age of Sigmar. In a game filled with demigods, monsters, ghosts, daemons, and reality-warping nonsense, they are the soldiers, engineers, priests, wizards, and desperate mortals trying to survive it all.
This release wave leans hard into that.
The new Battletome: Cities of Sigmar brings the updated lore, artwork, miniature galleries, and warscrolls needed to run the faction in the new edition. There will also be a limited gamer’s edition while stocks last, featuring a smaller-format book and 66 reference cards. For a faction with this many moving parts, having easy reference material is genuinely useful.
This is also one of those battletome releases that feels like it is arriving alongside a real expansion of the army, not just a book and a couple of token releases.
The Cogfort Is the Star of the Wave
The biggest release here, literally and probably figuratively, is the Cogfort.
This thing is ridiculous in the exact way Age of Sigmar should be ridiculous. It is a walking fortress designed to dominate the battlefield, and the kit can build either the Cannonade variant with a godbreaker cannon or the Conqueror variant with a realmscorcher flame cannon.
That alone makes it a centerpiece model, but the really interesting part is that every Age of Sigmar faction can take one as a Regiment of Renown. That means this is not just a Cities of Sigmar toy. This is something that could show up in a lot of armies, and that usually makes demand a lot more interesting.
From a hobby perspective, this is the kind of kit that can anchor an entire collection. You can paint it clean and ceremonial, grimy and campaign-worn, or as a battered relic of a city that has been dragged through one siege too many. It is exactly the kind of strange, overbuilt, blackpowder-and-faith war machine that helps Cities of Sigmar stand apart.
The Hero Releases Add a Lot of Flavor
The character releases in this wave are also strong.
Erasmus Zonn the Enlightened One brings the wizard-on-monster energy, mounted on Glyphwing and wielding radiant magic through the Lantern of All-Knowledge and the Rod of Radiance. It is a very Age of Sigmar concept, but still grounded enough to fit the Cities range.
The Mallus Forgepriest is another standout. These priests serve as blacksmiths, chaplains, and battlefield exorcists, which is exactly the sort of flavor this army needs more of. A warhammer-wielding forge cleric leading from the front feels right at home beside gunlines, city militias, and marching columns.
Then we have the battle mages, the Aqshian Pyrocaster and Amethyst Knellmage. The Pyrocaster is all flame, heat, and aggression, while the Knellmage pulls from Shyishan death magic, weakening foes before cutting them down with an amethyst scythe. These two help sell the idea that Cities of Sigmar are not just regular humans with swords, they are backed by strange magic, dangerous faith, and the full madness of the Mortal Realms.
Freeguild Gallants and Grenadiers Build Out the Army
The infantry additions are also doing a lot of work here.
Freeguild Gallants are foot knights, trading the speed of mounted warfare for shields, blades, and sheer stubbornness. They are described as intercepting charges and driving enemies back with disciplined bladecraft, which gives Cities of Sigmar a more elite melee infantry option that still feels human and grounded.
The Freeguild Grenadiers are probably one of the more exciting infantry kits in the wave. Close-quarters troops with blackpowder weapons, flame-hurlers, and polearms fit the Cities theme incredibly well. They sound like the kind of unit that gets sent into breaches, alleys, tunnels, and burning streets when subtlety has long since stopped being an option.
This is where Cities of Sigmar shine as a concept. They are not elegant. They are not immortal. They are not blessed with endless divine bodies or monstrous forms. They are people with steel, powder, faith, and orders.
That is what makes them interesting.
Gate Gargants Are Peak Castelite Weirdness
The Gate Gargants might be one of the strangest and most entertaining kits in the release.
Two massive brutes carrying halves of a gate, acting as a living gatehouse in a Castelite formation, is exactly the kind of over-the-top battlefield idea that works in Age of Sigmar. They protect the troops behind them, smash enemies with warmauls, and even have tower-mounted handlers firing multi-barrelled cannons.
It is absurd, but it is absurd with a purpose.
The Cities of Sigmar range has been steadily carving out this identity of mobile fortifications, disciplined formations, and humans trying to bring walls, guns, and order into a world that absolutely does not care. Gate Gargants fit that perfectly.
Dawner’s Triumph Gives the Army a Proper Centerpiece Terrain Piece
The new Dawner’s Triumph faction terrain is a mobile monument, both a memorial and a dedication to those who have died in pursuit of Sigmar’s future. It radiates duty and glory, inspiring nearby troops.
Faction terrain can be hit or miss depending on how useful it feels on the table and how easy it is to work into a collection, but thematically this one makes sense. Cities of Sigmar are not just an army, they are a crusading civilization. They carry their dead, their symbols, and their impossible dreams into hostile lands.
A rolling monument to sacrifice is very on-brand.
Jorvan Kreel and the Spearhead Support
Jorvan Kreel, Heir of the Kraken also returns here as a standalone release, giving players access to the Ranger-Colonel from the Spearhead set. He is a strong character concept, a disgraced or burdened noble warrior seeking allies to reclaim his honor and legacy.
The new Spearhead: Zenestra’s Zealots is also worth noting. Pontifex Zenestra leads the force alongside a Freeguild Marshal, Relic Envoy, Freeguild Command Corps, and Steelhelms. It is a compact way to get into Cities of Sigmar, especially for players who want a force with a strong religious and military identity right out of the box.
Spearhead boxes continue to be one of the better entry points into Age of Sigmar, and this one fits the faction well.
Regiment of Renown, Dice, and Cards
The Regiment of Renown: Ven Denst’s Hounds brings back the witch-hunting father-and-daughter duo alongside Wildercorps Hunters. It can be used in Grand Alliance Order armies, giving it broader appeal beyond Cities players.
The dice and warscroll cards are also coming, with the usual note that the Regiment of Renown, dice, and warscroll cards are only available while stocks last. That means anyone who wants the accessories should probably not assume they will sit around forever.
Nothing shocking there, but worth remembering. Please note: The Warscroll Cards and Dice will not be available via Wargame Portal, and be purchased directly from the Warhammer Webstore.
Warhammer Underworlds Gets Thyrielle’s Zephyrites
Outside the Cities wave, Thyrielle’s Zephyrites arrive for Warhammer Underworlds. This is a complete Mastery-style Lumineth Realm-lords warband, built around synergy with existing Mastery decks.
Underworlds releases are always a bit of their own lane, but this gives Lumineth players and Underworlds fans something new to chew on. The mention of Tzul, the vulpine spirit, gives the warband a nice hook beyond just “more Lumineth.”
And Then There Are the Vostroyans
Now we get to the classic surprise, the Vostroyan Firstborn Made to Order wave.
These are direct-only from Games Workshop, so Wargame Portal and other third-party retailers will not be carrying them. That said, we still have to talk about them because the Vostroyans are one of the most iconic classic Imperial Guard ranges ever made.
The wave includes the Command Squad, multiple commanders, Vostroyan squads, special weapon guardsmen, heavy weapon teams, and a platoon. These models can be used in Warhammer 40,000 with the rules for other regiments such as Cadians, or simply picked up as painting projects and collection pieces. They are available Made to Order until 8am BST on May 25, 2026, and Games Workshop notes they will ship within 180 days of ordering.
The Vostroyans are one of those ranges that people still talk about because they had such a strong identity. Fur hats, heirloom weapons, ornate armor, old-world military styling, and that heavy Imperial Guard gothic flavor that made each regiment feel like it came from a completely different world.
They are not modern multipart plastics. They are not going to be as flexible as new kits. But that is not really the point.
The point is that they are classic Warhammer. They have character. They feel like something from a specific era of the hobby, when Imperial Guard regiments had wildly different cultures, silhouettes, and attitudes. Seeing them come back, even briefly, is genuinely cool.
Final Thoughts
This is a very strong release week, especially for Cities of Sigmar players.
The Cogfort is the obvious centerpiece, but the rest of the wave does a lot to deepen the faction. The Forgepriest, battle mages, Gallants, Grenadiers, Gate Gargants, Dawner’s Triumph, and supporting releases all push Cities of Sigmar further into their own identity. This is no longer just “the normal humans” army. It is an army of crusading city-states, blackpowder troops, walking fortresses, battlefield clergy, strange wizards, and desperate mortals trying to build civilization in a setting that constantly wants to grind them into dust.
That is a great direction for the faction.
And while the Vostroyans are not part of the retail release for us, their return is still worth celebrating. They are one of the coolest Imperial Guard ranges Games Workshop ever made, and for collectors who have wanted them without paying brutal secondhand prices, this Made to Order window is a rare opportunity.
Cities of Sigmar get the big release. The Cogfort gets the spotlight. The Vostroyans get the nostalgia.
Honestly, that is a pretty packed week.
