I was torn this week as to which image I wanted to use for the column’s featured image. Since I wanted to discuss the new Limited Edition Codex for the Adeptus Custodes, the official pitcure of the book and all its goodies was the obvious choice. But then a small part of me was tempted to cheekily go with that well-known GTA6 meme, oh shit, here we go again.
Obviously I went with the safer option, mainly on account of visual presentation rather than any pearl-clutching about profanity. But the feeling is definitely there- we’re right back to last week’s conversation around the USD $420 Space Marine Limited Codex.
Déjà vu all over again.
What’s in the Box (Redux)?
As with the Space Marines Limited, the Custodes box is filled with a trove of goodies for the collector. While this isn’t directly Black Library related, of course, that hardly matters- people don’t shell out this kind of money for a simple Codex when they could get that on its own at a fraction of the price.
No, this is shelf candy, and Black Library folks- especially those who like to turn their libraries into display museums like me- are every bit as much a target market for products like this as the wargamers.
In addition to the Codex and gaming components, you also get:
A miniature metal Custodian vexilla
Adeptus Custodes lapel pin
A decorative, hinged wooden dice vault filled with ten dice
Six art prints
A cloth map of the Imperial Palace
That’s a lot of goodies! While we won’t know until Saturday’s preorder window opens up, it may be a safe bet to assume the pricing will be comparable to the Space Marine Limited Edition. I don’t see it going any higher, but as I see it there’s a small possibility that it might be lower.
At time of writing, the Space Marine one is still available to preorder. It does seem clear from Games Workshop’s preferred production and marketing practices that their preference is to run on the lean side of the supply/demand matrix. Put another way, they have a demonstrated preference for underproducing in order to ensure a product sellout rather than risk having to hold unsold inventory- even if that means leaving potential profit on the table.
To the consumer community this tends to appear like Games Workshop is leveraging FOMO to drive sales, but I suspect the reality is a bit more prosaic.
This all is to suggest that GW may have gotten the price wrong this time around. There are two reason consumers will generally turn their nose up at these kinds of offerings. Either the perceived value isn’t there, or the value is there but the price itself is too high a barrier to overcome for most.
When this happens, a smart business will either adjust the price downward and accept a lower profit margin, or reduce the contents of the offering until it better matches the price point realities of the consumer base. It’s far too late in the game to do the second one for the Custodes, but we might see a slight, downward revision in the sticker. I’m not sure GW will be happy with two pallets of unsold Limited Edition Codex stock occupying vital space in the warehouse.
That said, I wouldn’t expect the price to drop much, and certainly not to the $250 that many of us (myself included) assumed was going to be the price point for these based on last year’s Chaos Codexes.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
There’s been widespread feeling that GW has been taking the piss with these, so to speak, which the lack of sellout status has only reinforced. In the week I’ve had to reflect and consider- and decide that I actually prefer having two kidneys, thanks- I’ve opted to choose gratitude on this product offering.
Sure the price point sees me safely on the outside of the shopfront glass, looking in. But you know what? I’m glad that Games Workshop is making this stuff. It might do well to fine-tune its pricing and/or product bundling decisions, but I’d rather have these trinkets and curious out in the world than never existing at all.
As someone who has spent a lot of effort creating book displays (with a personal code of only using officially licensed merchandise), having more options is always going to be better than less. Our current options are fairly limited (Starforged is great, but a lot of their offerings are made as wearables), and I’d love to see more shelf candy in the Sunday Preview.
The thing about FOMO too is that missing out on something often conveys advantage on your next FOMO saving throw. If we continue to get these limited offerings that price out the majority of consumers, it will ultimately just be something- like Wednesday preorder windows- that we adapt to or just walk away from.
Winners, Losers, and the Sin of Hope
Last Wednesday saw our third midweek special preorder window, a topic I discussed at some length here when it was announced. In short, with three Special Edition releases in a row offered in this new window- and a fourth now on the way as of yesterday’s Sunday Preorder- we can safely assume that this is the new normal.
I’ve talked quite a bit already about who loses in this arrangement. Because it’s a single, global window (despite allocation of product appearing to remain regionally-based), it hits different folks at different times. I have to make sure I’m free at 10:00 in the morning (not always easy for those of us at work), while punters in Australia have to stay up until midnight (also not always easy).
But there do appear to be winners here, too.
Given Helbrecht: Sin of Hope’s attractive design and the fact that Black Templars are a popular faction for collectors, I genuinely expected this to be another quick sellout.
It wasn’t.
If this were a traditional Saturday preorder window, the first thing I would have concluded is that the consumer reception to the book’s treatment was a bit underwhelming. We’ve seen that before, such as with Robbie MacNiven’s Vagabond Squadron.
But ever since the move to Wednesdays, we’ve seen increased inventory throughout the day after the initial window opens. We know that Games Workshop appears to be taking additional, recently-implemented action against scalpers1, and having the preorder window open while it’s still normal operating business hours in the UK suggests they’re taking the most active hand yet in thwarting scalpers.
While it’s fair to say that when scalpers lose we all win, but for those who used to be able to preorder their deluxe editions on Saturdays but now cannot due to work or other commitments no amount of “greater good” rationalization is going to balm that frustration2.
The best advice I can give at the moment is to try and align with other small groups of collectors that are ordering extra copies. I don’t know what the number of copies is that one can safely order, but I’ve ordered a couple for several of the most recent releases without cancellation. I’ve noticed a small uptick in coordinated “buddy ordering” in the Black Library community, but it’s fair to say that like any network of social contacts it helps to establish yourself and build up a bit of goodwill through active participation3.
Given how many satisfied customers I’m seeing throughout the day, delighted that they were able to take advantage of a surprise inventory restock, I think a lot of folks have been pleased with GW’s more aggressive, anti-scalper order cancelation methods even if it means having to deal with a second window.
That doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the argument, though. There are a number of ways that Games Workshop could lean even further into a pro-consumer stance, making their products even more widely available. Indeed, other hobby companies have been successfully implementing some very interesting options in this space, and we’ll look at two of them next week.
Giving Props
I’m a huge fan of the extraordinary creativity in the Warhammer community, and have shined the Black Library Weekly spotlight on incredible projects ranging from handwriting stories onto scrolls to book rebinding and beyond.
The latest initiative that caught my eye is this stunning Mordheim rulebook, shared by Michael Corrie. As a Mordheim player back in the day before life got in the way, his passion was rekindled when he found a group at a nearby gaming store still were playing the game.
I joined up and went about looking for the old rulebooks and minis, etc
Well they’re all collectors items now, and expensive.
Well it turns out all the rules books have been uploaded and are printable.
Lol
Whatever is a professional film industry prop maker to do!?!?!
Well I printed out everything...
On parchment.
Then bound the loose pages, made a hard cover from wood and wrapped it 2oz vegetable tanned sheep skin.
Dyed it black and made it all sinister and whatnot. Then took the logo and hashtag 3d printed it, made it look all rusty and done.
A Rulebook with all the extra rules that came out later all for a game that I haven’t played in nearly 30 years.
Because I could.
Imagine sitting down from your opponent and they pull that out of a satchel. Just try not to say, klaatu barada nikto.
One can never be too careful with that sort of thing.
Love is a Battlefield
Pardon the pun, but for some time the Black Library community has flirted with the notion of a Warhammer Romance line, similar to how we had Warhammer Horror and Warhammer Crime. But in life as in love, fortune favors the bold and while we dared to dream the impossible dream, Catalyst Games made the first move.
This might look like an April Fool’s Day social media prank, but fair play to Catalyst for seizing the zeitgeist and going for it with a full, 343-page romance novel set in the Battletech universe.
Since the pandemic, romance fiction has had an undeniable renaissance, driven in no small degree by the “BookTok” effect. As a lifelong hockey fan, for instance, I’ve long been accustomed to my sport flying relatively under the radar- but Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry has certainly put more eyes on the sport.
Unlike Crime and Horror, I’m not sure Warhammer Romance would have been able to quite escape being buttonholed as a meme experiment (fun as it might be). The IP’s general tone as well as market position only serve to reinforce a certain conservatism- larger properties many not be as inclined to take risks or indulge in whimsy (though, in fairness, they did try a book line for younger readers with 2019’s Warhammer Adventures series).
But a property like Battletech is in a great position to extend themselves with this sort of thing- and now thanks to Marie Bilodeau’s Hearts of Iron they have.
UPDATE 9/28: This comes by way of Russell Zimmerman, author of the upcoming Auxilia and noted BattleTech author to boot! “Fun fact: this is the SECOND BattleTech Romance novel. One came out last year, Hungry Like The Wolf, which was ALMOST a joke product and a Valentine's Day release...but then did so well they decided to continue the line.”
Thanks for the correction, Russell!
Arrivals & Departures
In this section I look at what’s coming up around the corner (Arrivals) and what’s landing on bookstore shelves (Departures).
Arrivals
It’s here! Since the reveal that we’d be getting a new Peter Fehervari book, folks have been waiting with bated breath for the drop. With the Dark Coil series, Fehervari has managed something fairly unique in the modern era, carving out a little playground all for himself in Warhammer 40,000. Few could be surprised at the recent induction of his first novel, Fire Caste, into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame, and Cold Covenant is his first new novel since 2020’s The Reverie.
The book will be available to preorder this coming Saturday (10/3) in the regular window, with the Special Edition the following Wednesday in the now-seemingly-official midweek window.
I’m also very excited about this one, as it’s Russel Zimmerman’s novel debut. You may recall at the start of the year Zimmerman cleaned up at the Goonhammer Book Awards, co-winning in both the Best Black Library Debut and Best IP Tie-In Novel (non-GW) categories. Not only that, but he just had a short story recently grace the pages of White Dwarf #525, Answered Prayers (reviewed here).
If I have a gripe, it’s my long-running one about the Astra Militarum novels being offered first in paperback rather than hardcover. But that’s just a quibble, I’ll be delighted to grab this one on Saturday’s preorder!
Finally, John French’s masterpiece Dropsite Massacre (review) and Apostle by David Annandale (review) both arrive in paperback. If you missed either one the first time around, I can certainly recommend both!
Departures
Plenty of reads have departed the printer's and are now on store shelves. The Dawn of Fire Omnibus Crusade of Vengeance, Mike Vincent’s Helbrecht: Sin of Hope, the paperback of Rob Young’s Master of Rites (review), and The Sundering omni by Gav Thorpe.
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Warhammer Wordforge
As this was a Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame Weekend, my companion piece The Hall Monitor also dropped this past Saturday. A sort of “director’s commentary” on the Hall of Fame project, this time I talked about Guy Haley’s extraordinary 2017!
There was a new Black Library Bibliophiles this past week as well, looking at the surprisingly-engaging topic of whether or not you should save your deluxe edition packaging for your books. We also looked at August’s deluxe offerings in a new short-video clip format, and showed off some truly amazing community shelfies!
For the Warhammer RPG Weekly, we enjoyed a bit of calm after the previous week’s big news. It’s nice to have quiet weeks from time to time, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t have a few things to cover.
Finally, in Trench Crusade Weekly, I’ve built my first mini- one designed by the new Head of Miniatures at Factory Fortress!
Tabletop Battles
Here’s the article for the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame, where an incredible nine books were inducted this week from 2017! Don’t forget to check in and cast your votes for the Class of 2018 as well!
For Lore Friday, Saelfe reviewed the recently-reissued Gloomspite, by Andy Clark.
Finally, this one’s a curveball but it’s the kind I love to see: Warhammer, Death Metal and the Midlands: An Interview with Ash Moore of Mutagenic Host.
Warhammer Community
This week’s Pages from the Black Books is the last of the series, but they’re going out with a bang! The final download is from an unreleased Black Books installment, focusing on the Emperor’s Children!
WarhammerTV (paywalled)
The supercut of Aeronautica Imperialis drops this Friday, alongside the show’s original soundtrack. I reviewed the show here, and if you haven’t seen it this is a great opportunity to see the entire, uninterrupted version.
Around the Webway
The lads of the TTP Field Manual pod gave a review this week to Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s classic Grey Knights tale The Emperor’s Gift.
At Boundary’s Edge delivered not one, but two book reviews this week for Black Library offerings! In addition to the World Ablaze anthology, Jude Reid’s Armageddon: Season of Fire went under the microscope, “the best introduction to Warhammer 40,000 I’ve seen in recent years.”
Ill Met by Morrslieb took a break from the RPG content this week to treat us to a book review of William King’s Hall-of-Fame classic, Trollslayer.
Cold Open Stories
This week’s featured story is A Mind of Their Own, by Justin Ackermann. “The Hive Mind is an amalgamation of trillions, a psychic gestalt that controls every Tyranid organism. It is all the component parts know. But what happens to those creatures if the psychic link is served? Do they revert to feral animals, or does their nature drive them to new and unexpected behaviour? And who in their right mind would deliberately engineer such a scenario…?”
Quick Hits
Victoria Hayward (Deathworlder, The Feast of St. Luthera) met her end this week- at least, as a character in the pages of 2000AD! The legendary comics magazine “was a formative text I read as an impressionable 11 year old after finding a stash of Halo Jones & covertly reading it in between music lessons - so this is a very meaningful privilege,” she shared.
In the wake of some recent scandals surrounding the Horror Writers Association, Tim Waggoner (Skin Man) asked whether or not writing organizations are obsolete.
Finally, if you’re near Colchester or will be finding yourself nearby in a couple weeks, James Swallow (The Flight of the Eisenstein, Nemesis) will be appearing at the Commando and British Weekly Comic Swap Meet!
Coming Attractions
Here’s a list of the known upcoming releases from the Black Library based on the available preorder information we have. As always, take all of this with a grain of salt unless it’s Games Workshop-confirmed.
This section will be updated weekly in this column, and anything in bold has been added (or updated) this week.
Upcoming but Undated
Crucible of Fire, by Tom R. Pike
Raptors: War and Shadow, by William Crowe
Blood of the Bastion, by Evan Dicken
Shadow of the Silver Wolf, by Gary Kloster
Current PODs in Production
Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition, estimated deliver-by date of 11/26)
Upcoming in 2026
Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/6)
The Sundering, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 10/6)
Cold Covenant, by Peter Fehervari (hardcover, Special Edition, 10/17)
Auxilia, by Russell Zimmerman (paperback, 10/17)
Dropsite Massacre, by John French (paperback, 10/17)
Apostle, by David Annandale (paperback, 10/17)
Death Rider, by Rhuairidh James (paperback, 11/19)
Ghost Legion, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 11/19)
Chem Dog, by Callum Davis (paperback, 12/17)
Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords, by Denny Flowers (paperback, 12/17)
Ashes of the Imperium, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 12/17)
Thanks again for joining me for all the going’s on in the Black Library, and see you next week!
As I covered two weeks ago, one customer who had their order for Blackheart: Claws of the Maelstrom canceled in error was told that this error “occurred during the review process we implemented to help prevent people from ordering multiple copies of this item and reselling them rather than enjoying it as intended.”
T’au players or otherwise.
An example of this is on the Black Library subreddit, where us “Top 1% contributors” are identified with helpful tags. Standing out in the community- officially or otherwise- is a great way to ensure there’s a willing hand to help you when you need a kindness or a courtesy.