Black Library Weekly: Rates of Exchange
Plus: The guiding principles of the Wordforge
Happy Monday, readers, and congratulations to all of you who strapped on your flak vests, limbered up your wallets and waded into the fray that was this past weekend’s Mephiston Boxed Set preorder. While I didn’t hear of any widespread or persistent issues with this window, it certainly seemed like this one- as expected- sold out very quickly.
People certainly do love their IXth.
What did manage to land on my radar through all this was something that I’d never given much thought to, though, and that’s global variation in pricing. To this point I’d always simply assumed that I was paying approximately the same for my products as a punter in Paris or a collector in Kyoto. Turns out, that’s not the case. At all.
Pop quiz! Consider the following countries/regions:
Australia
Canada
Europe
Japan
New Zealand
South Korea
United Kingdom
USA
Which of them would you guess paid the most for the Mephiston Boxed Set this weekend. I’m talking sticker price for the item, no shipping or anything else.
The answer? Those of us here in the United States, with a retail price of $170.
Now, which of them would you expect paid the least? Here’s a hint: it’s not the UK.
Apparently, it’s Japan. The boxed set cost ¥15,500, which in USD (at time of writing) is… $95.48? This is such a wildly unexpected amount that I’m going to show my work just in case someone can tell me what I’m doing wrong here (if indeed I am).
Again, if I made an error somewhere here please let me know in the comments, because Japan paying about half of what I pay here in the US- and significantly less than what everyone else in the world pays, too- is the kind of anomalous data point that suggests a PEBKAC error1. Otherwise, it appears to be a factor of fixed pricing running afoul of a historically weak Yen- but I’m no economist.
Here’s what the rest of the spread looks like.
Ultimately, I present this as a curiosity rather than a cause for concern. Currency valuations fluctuate as a matter of course, and undoubtedly there’s a long time horizon for Games Workshop’s price-setting. Think steering an oil tanker, not a cigarette boat. It would be confusing if prices were “updated” every preorder window to account for changes in relative currency values, and certainly would add am measure of work for GW’s staff to monitor and update on the regular.
The question for me is simply this: do I feel like I’m getting proper value for the amount I pay for an item, or do I not?
And in the case of the Mephiston Boxed Set I did- and it turns out I paid a lot less than I paid about as much as our friends in Japan did due to an unexpected twist of fate…
The Rynn’s World Mishap (Update)
Last week I spoke about my disappointment at having my order of Rynn’s World thwarted by a Games Workshop fulfillment employee. When my local Warhammer store manager cracked open the box containing my shipment, instead of what I’d ordered it contained two Chaos Battleforce boxes. The store manager was able to replace the missing For the Emperor Illustrated and Annotated Edition from his store stock, but of course no such luck for a Special Edition release. He fired off an email, and the following Monday I was not surprised to find a confirmation from GW that a refund was being processed.
Now here’s the interesting part, and where Games Workshop can do a better job at its communications with customers. Turns out, GW emailed my store’s manager to express their condolences about what happened, and let me know that not only would they be issuing me a refund, but they’d be adding a further $80 credit on top of it.
I’m very pleased with this response. I accept that, while frustrating, screw-ups can- and do- happen, and by accepting responsibility and putting me ahead with the bonus credit, that’s a fair consideration. My only thought is that it would have been better if they’d informed me of that response as well, rather than just the store manager.
The “refund is being processed” email made no mention of a dollar amount, so I had no way to know that they have approved a bonus credit. And unfortunately, the Voucher section of my account screen on Warhammer.com doesn’t have a transaction history, so unless I’m on top of exactly how much I’ve got in vouchers on the website I wouldn’t necessarily notice the increase.
It’s a small complaint, but hey, if you’re going to do something nice for a customer, wouldn’t you want to make sure they see it?
Overall, this was the second-best outcome I could have hoped for, with the best response being if they’d tracked down a copy for me and fulfilled my order. My heart is going to hurt a little when someone posts a picture of what’s in-stock at Warhammer World and I see a copy or two of Rynn’s World just sitting there on the shelf, because I know they hold a certain number of copies back for in-store distribution.
All the same, I can’t say it was unwelcome when it came to the boxed set I opened this week’s column with. I’d been on the fence about the set2, but getting that surprise voucher made the cost much more palatable.
The Six Guiding Principles of the Wordforge
I took the opportunity in Friday’s Warhammer RPG Weekly column to talk about my guiding principles when it comes to creating content about Warhammer. A lot of my Black Library readers have seen me talk about these on occasion, but a lot of RPG readers are coming here comparatively cold. It was a good exercise to sit and brainstorm, what do I stand for?, and thought it worth sharing over here.
They are as follows:
No snark. I’m not here to tear things down, but rather to give my honest opinions and assessments. I can dislike something without feeling the need to diminish it through mean-spiritedness.
“There Are No Bad Books.” This one comes straight from Magic: the Gathering’s head designer Mark Rosewater, who has often noted that there are no bad cards, just cards that aren’t for you. If I don’t like something, it doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love it and I always try to consider who the intended audience might be for something.
Protecting the “First-Time” Experience. You only ever get to experience something for the first time once, and I always seek to preserve that for the reader. I try to avoid or limit the number of spoilers I disclose, and will announce them in advance when necessary for discussion.
Knowing My “Lane” as a Reviewer. There’s no such thing as a universal reader- we all come into Warhammer with different levels of engagement, experience, and knowledge. How a novice perceives something may be different than a veteran, and that’s important to bear in mind when reviewing. (For instance, I’m a 40K vet but an AoS rookie).
Assuming Good Faith. Whether it’s the choices and decisions of individual writers, the editorial team of the Black Library, or Games Workshop as a whole, I always try to assume good faith as my default posture. I’ve been wrong far more often in life than I’ve been right when I’ve allowed cynicism to guide my thoughts and actions.
Responsible Reporting. Finally, truth and facts matter. While calling myself a “journalist” would feel a bit highfalutin, I share that profession’s value of factual accuracy in what I write. I don’t do clickbait or sensationalism in an effort to drive up engagement.
Will I always get it perfectly right? Almost certainly not. There will undoubtedly be more typos, misreads, and misunderstandings down the road- that’s just the nature of putting words out into the world. But having these six pillars as the bedrock of the Warhammer Wordforge ensures that when I do inevitably stumble, I have a clear map to help me find my way back.
Ultimately, covering the Black Library, the Warhammer RPG’s, and the wider Games Workshop universe is an absolute privilege. My goal is always to do right by the writers who pour their hearts into these books, and by you- the community- who share this passion with me week after week.
I meant it then and I mean it now, thank you to all of you reading this and this extraordinary community I find myself amongst. Now, let’s see what else is going on in the world of the Black Library!
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
Thanks to a reveal piece on the mothership, some more exciting news for Blood Angels fans this week as Raldoron: Revenant, the next book by Guy Haley, was announced!
Raldoron is renowned for his fluid leadership and pragmatic approach to combat, and is especially good at understanding the hearts of his brothers. This natural understanding will be pushed to its limits, however, as the Blood Angels begin the mass recruitment of hastily trained Inductii in an effort to blunt Warmaster Horus’ conquest of the Garmon Cluster.
Can Raldoron temper his new recruits and stop the ghosts of the past resurfacing within the Blood Angels? Or will the Revenant Legion come again, and plunge the warriors of Baal back into their old nightmare?
The book will be offered in both standard hardcover and Special Edition.
While Raldoron wasn’t in this week’s Sunday Preview, there were a couple of paperbacks that are right around the corner: Guy Haley’s Archmagos as well as The Relentless Dead by Steve Lyons (review).
Departures
Just one made the journey to the bookstore shelves this week, as the paperback Flames of Betrayal was released. It contains James Swallow’s Garro: Knight of Grey as well as the anthology Era of Ruin.
Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die
The famous line from Hunter S. Thompson came to mind when I saw this curiosity shared in the Black Library Nutters group by Eddie Arnold. This was a misprint of the new Horus Heresy Saga version of Dan Abnett’s Horus Rising.
While there’s a corner of the Magic: the Gathering community that chases oddities and misprints, we don’t see a lot of them on the book side of things. That’s not to say they don’t exist, as I previously covered my own misprint of Si Spurrier’s Hall of Fame novel Lord of the Night here. Still, this one was too warp-touched not to share!
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Warhammer content!
Warhammer Wordforge
This week saw the next in the new White Dwarf Stories series, which explores that corner of the Black Library tucked away in the pages of Games Workshop’s flagship periodical. This time it was Answered Prayers, the latest by Goonhammer Book Award-winner Russell Zimmerman (Resounding, Seven Ships).
While I talked about this earlier with the section on the site’s guiding principles, here’s another link to the latest Warhammer RPG Weekly piece which dropped last Friday.
Tabletop Battles
TTB’s Lore Friday this week was my review of Death and Duty: An Astra Militarum anthology. Slightly problematic in that it shared four stories with No Peace Among Stars, the other anthology that released at the same time, it nevertheless had some ripping yarns!
Longtime readers know I’m a sucker not just for the books, but for great ways to decorate your library and gaming spaces. Greg Chiasson reviewed the Secret Labs Dark Angels-themed gaming chair this week, and was pleasantly surprised!
Warhammer Community
With the focus this week on the Ogor Mawtribes for Age of Sigmar, the mothership dropped an Ogor-themed Chronicles of Ruin story, The Law of Meat.
The Pages from the Black Books series shifted gears (literally) this week, looking at the Knights of the Mechanicum
WarhammerTV (paywalled)
No Black Library-related content this week.
Around the Webway
Arbitor Ian and Mira Manga’s Book Club dove into Dropsite Massacre this week, John French’s critically-acclaimed Horus Heresy tale. It was 2025’s Black Library Book of the Year, runner-up for the Goonhammer Book Awards’ Best 30K/40K novel, and my own Book of the Year to boot!
Kenny Boulder also offered up a video review of the Twice Dead King Omnibus, by Nate Crowley
The Unseen Library released a top-10 list of best audiobooks for the first half of the year, and a number of 40K titles made the cut! I love seeing more audiobook reviews, since they’re helpful in keeping my own pipeline full!
Cold Open Stories
No spotlighted story this week, but Cold Open Stories announced two of the guest judges for the current story competition, Geneviève Laprise and Kat Peterson. The current fast fiction competition’s deadline is the end of this month, and I absolutely encourage anyone- even those folks who are just getting their pinkie toe wet writing- to give it a shot. After all, if I can do it, anyone can!
Quick Hits
James Swallow (Flight of the Eisenstein, Nemesis) announced his next novel, Tasker, as well as two previous novels (Airside and Dark Horizon) will be getting US editions! He also has two stories coming up in Commando, Britain’s comic magazine of wartime drama.
Scholarguard, the latest by John Sollitto (Rok Crackers, Redemption through Blood) is now available. “Hunter Hardcutt has a problem. His illustrious adventuring career has died on the vine. Thankfully, the perfect job just arrived in the form of a nervous scholar named Embergleam. He needs a bodyguard to protect him on his way back to the Arcane Institute. What could be simpler than walking an academic back home?” Obviously, nothing in this job will be simple.
The Kickstarter for Echobound Adventures, the latest by Open Owl Studios, has gone live! A cooperative tabletop game for 1-4 players, it features extensive writing by Will McDermott (Lasgun Wedding, Underhive Apex). If you’re curious about the game, make sure to check out this review by Board Stupid as well!
Analog Magazine’s July/August issue features a novella from Tom R. Pike (Dream of the Locust, Worm of Valhalla), called Red Ships. The story tracks the death of a culture over the course of a hundred years, and while looking into that I found this interesting little tidbit: “Look for his debut military SF novel, coming out in hardcover September 2026—though the powers that be won’t let him announce the title just yet.” A debut Black Library novel, perhaps?
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
Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! (Illustrated and Annotated Edition), by Nate Crowley
The Wicked and the Warped, by Robert Rath (hardcover, Special Edition)
The Infinite and the Divine, by Robert Rath (hardcover)
Raldoron: Revenant, by Guy Haley (hardcover, Special Edition)
Current PODs in Production
Hive, by Dan Abnett (Special Edition)
Upcoming in 2026
Ghosts of Cadia, by Rob Young (hardcover and Special Edition, 7/25)
Longshot, by Rob Young (hardcover, 7/25)
The Devastation of Baal, by Guy Haley (hardcover, 7/25)
Mephiston: The Box Set, by Darius Hinks (8/1)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/8)
The Relentless Dead, by Steve Lyons (paperback, 8/8)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/11)
Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/6)
The Sundering, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 10/6)
Dropsite Massacre, by John French (paperback, 10/20)
Apostle, by David Annandale (paperback, 10/20)
Master of Rites, by Rob Young (paperback, 10/20)
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!
PEBKAC = Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair
It’s absolutely gorgeous and easily a Museum piece, but I’m not big into the Blood Angels. They can’t expect me to buy everything… can they?