Lock and Load is the biggest event in the Warmachine calendar, a packed convention for fans of the miniature wargame to meet up for serious tournaments, casual pick up and play games, and - of course - a livestream from the team at Steamforged Games revealing the next season of releases. And this Friday they did not disappoint; pretty much the whole range of Southern Kriels Kithguard was on show, along with four new super heavy warjacks - three of them iconic returning characters - and a massive Gargantuan model for Old Umbrey. And capping it all, a cheeky teaser that will have long-term fans frothing - Menoth is coming back!
The Protectorate of Menoth has been part of Warmachine since the very first edition, a fundamentalist state that worships the human creator god, with a taste for fire and a mixture of Catholic and middle eastern aesthetics, plus Warjacks shaped like walking churches.
By the end of the third edition narrative many of its key leaders had been killed and its devotees and military were forced into exile, and it's been conspicuously absent from the fourth edition of the miniature wargame. The first new Menoth minis will be on show at Adepticon 2026!
Southern Kriels Kithguard
Much, much closer at hand is the new Kithguard range, the second army within the Southern Kriels faction and the first to release in 2026. Steamforged had a new trailer to show off for the faction, which revealed what the contents of the Command Starter set.
The Kithguard are Trollbloods, a range of species including burly Trollkin, dimunitive Pygs, and monstrous true Trolls, characterized by incredible endurance and never, ever being able to catch a break: their efforts to carve out a homeland safe from the wars of men have yet to be successful. They've never taken that lying down.
Aesthetically, the Kithguard look like guerilla warriors on patrol in 'Nam, and they use a 'trapdoor' mechanic that modifies how the regular Ambush rule works. The Command Starter's Warlock is able to create trapdoors during his feat turn, and who allows units to enter from Ambush in the middle of the turn
The character unit in the box is the Scrappers, equipped with tunneling gear and with the backstab ability that allows them to deal extra damage on the turn they enter play.
Corporal Rhud Felleye is a sniper model who is incredibly competent at dealing damage, while the diminutive pyg Private Rattles digs out trapdoors.
Klangor is a massive dire troll with a huge machete and a hopper full of bombs that he yeets at people by hand.
Some Lock and Load attendees caught site of a Kitghuard model being used by Steamforged staff - a new Journeyman Warcaster and a massive Super Heavy Warjack called Ramhead.
Dusk Fane of Nyrro
The second army to release in 2026, following Kithguard, will be the Dusk Fane of Nyrro. All that Steamforged had to show was the key art - Vampire elves riding on bats. Sweet.
Super Heavy Warjacks
Super Heavy Warjacks and Warbeasts are one of the cooler things introduced for Warmachine 4th edition, but until now they've been pretty scarce. But as well as Ramhead, Steamforged has revealed four new Super Heavies, and three of them are returning character Warjacks with even more presence than before.
Three of the four original character Warjacks are in the lineup: Cygnar's Thunderhead, Khador's Behemoth, and Cryx's Deathjack. While Deathjack just looks like a bigger version of his familiar design, Thunderhead has clearly undergone some tinkering in the Stormsmith workshops - it levitates on an electrical field, and throws out robo servitors as it goes.
And someone in Khador seems to have recognised that Behemoth's teeny tiny legs were singularly ill-suited to his massive torso, so they've mounted it onto a Bison self-propelled gun carriage.
Then there's the brand new Azhdarak for the Orgoth Sea Raiders. Apparently the soul-harvesting invaders have noticed how terrified the Immorese are of Dragons, and they've decided to make their own.
Deathjack II will be available in December; Azhdarak in January; Behemoth II in February; and Thunderhead II in March.
Gorger Gargantuan
The biggest reveal of all is the Gorger Gargantuan for Old Umbrey. If you're unfamiliar with Warmachine, Gargantuans are the biggest size class of monsters that a Warlock can control, sitting on a 120mm round base and generally measuring up to an Imperial Knight on the tabletop. Old Umbrey is a rural province of the northern kingdom of Khador and it's inspired by Slavik folklore, and the Gorger is… well, it's a really big damn krampus daemon with a pile of skulls for a head.
But wait, there's more
The next Legacy army that Steamforged Game is bringing back via the Warmachine 3D STL subscription will be the Thornfall Alliance, the Iron Kingdoms' belligerent mercenary pigmen. As well as making long out-of-production models available again, the new Command Starter will include a new character heavy Warbeast - a two-headed bonegrinder beast.
There are more returning and new models for the Crucible Guard, with a full Command Starter incoming with a new character unit and a light character warjack called Apollo. The most notable innovation is the army-wide 'Chemical Warfare' rule - continuous effects within the control range of the faction's Warcasters do not expire, and deal double damage.
And heading along with the updated Crucible Guard is a new Mercenary solo - an updated version of Gorman Di Wolfe, Revolutionary Agent, who will play for Khador, Storm Legion, and Cryx Necrofactorium.
Whew. I didn't even mention the alternate sculpts available as convention exclusives or via Minicrate.
Do you have questions about the new releases? We're be hosting a live AMA with studio co-founders Mat Hart and Rich Loxham, rules lead Jamie Perkins, lore master Sherwin Matthews and lead sculptor Russ Charles at 8.30am ET / 5.30am PT / 1.30pm BST on Saturday, November 15 in the Wargamer Discord community!