Mind, machine, metamorphosis — Warmachine Wednesday

This week, we’re heading deep below Immoren for the Cephalyx Compendium, a new lore entry uncovering the true origins of the mind-slavers. From the fall of Urus to the birth of the hive, this compendium charts how humanity’s most secretive descendants turned flesh and thought into tools of domination.

Today’s TL;DR

• New lore — Dive deep into the hive.
  Discover the origins of the Dark Operations in the Cephalyx Compendium today in the Warmachine App.

• Warmachine 3D — Claim your November collection 
  Athanor Locke returns, the Storm Legion rolls out new terrain, and the Dominated Winter Korps march under new masters.

• Lock & Load 2025 — badges, swag, and schedules
  Early-bird swag bags for the first 200 badge holders are nearly gone. Iron Gauntlet finals, Iron Arena, seminars, RPG, and more.

• SFG Keynote — live at Lock & Load
  Tune in on Saturday, 15 November. We’ll stream it on the Warmachine and Steamforged YouTube channels.

• Lock & Load Narrative teaser — In case you missed it: Mat Hart has painted some monstrous giant drudges
  
  

Descent of Uru. Rise of Cephalyx

This week’s lore feature, the Cephalyx Compendium, charts one of the most chilling metamorphoses in the Iron Kingdoms’ history, from the fall of Urus to the first Exulons who carved enlightenment from their own skulls.

“The great first city Urus was laid low not by war or plague but by the very hand of the Creator. His tempest of divine wrath was not directed at Urus alone but at all the land, from one horizon to the other. The continent buckled beneath the fist of an angry god. The seas boiled and churned as the sky was lit afire. All the prideful were slaughtered, their prayers unanswered. The earth split open to swallow them. The skies rained sheets of flame while the wind roared in unending fury. 

All that had been built was laid to ruin, yet the onslaught did not end. The Creator had decided to shatter his work like a potter hurling a fresh-fired jug against the tiles. Those few who survived knew the people of Urus were cursed—not merely abandoned but shunned and forever marked. Most surrendered to despair and accepted this judgment. Some few persevered, however, though their very existence was blasphemy. They abandoned their doomed city and fled across the wastes. Knowing no ordinary shelter would protect them from the burning sky, they retreated underground, descending into the darkness below. Never again would the people of Urus emerge. They spent their accursed lives entombed, becoming wretched and depraved. They lurk there still.”

—Fragment from The Fall of Urus

Learn how isolation, starvation, and the pursuit of perfection forged a species that abandoned themselves entirely.

What began as survival became a depraved hive of sinister beings. Within the pages of the Cephalyx Compendium, you’ll find discover how a people turned to the scalpel for salvation, how their culture calcified into hives, and how cephalomek became both their science and their sin.

Read deep into the history of the meticulous mind-slavers on the Warmachine app today. Discover their descent, and what drove them to pursue their Dark Operations.

Start your own hive

If you’re ready to bring the hive to the tabletop, the Hive Mind Cadre is the perfect place to start.

Playable in Dark Operations, this 30-point force is built to get you into your first Warmachine games fast — just build, paint, and let the mind-link take hold.

Prefer to print at home? You can get the digital STL Hive Mind Cadre at no additional cost when you subscribe to Warmachine 3D as part of the welcome pack for new subscribers, you also get conversion parts for the Cryx Necrofactorium warjacks, the Cryx Soul Garden terrain pack, plus defenses, objectives, base toppers, and accessories.

Already deep in the hive?

For those already bound to the will of the exulons, the Warmachine App unlocks more than lore.

An annual subscription gives you access to a treasure trove of Iron Kingdoms lore — including the new Cephalyx Compendium. Your annual sub also grants you a redeemable store code for the mighty Exulon Nostilla and her monstrous Aberration. 

These mercenary horrors can fight for any army, serving wherever their chilling intellect is welcomed… or feared. 

Get your Exulon Nostilla & Aberration physical HIPS model kit today when you annually subscribe through the Warmachine app.

Warmachine 3D: snow control — dominate the print bed this November

November’s Warmachine 3D collection is out now and bringing an elemental storm of STLs with it.

Crucible Guard’s Aurum Lucanum Athanor Locke is back in command, her servo-arms working overtime in an agile new sculpt.

The Cygnar Storm Legion terrain pack thunders in to kit out your table, and the Dark Operations ever-increasing menagerie grows with the Dominator & Dominated Winter Korps who trudge ceaselessly onto the frontlines against their will.

Fire up your printer this November: Subscribe to Warmachine 3D and claim your collection.

Lock & Load 2025 — less than two weeks away!

Weekend badges for Lock & Load at Warfaire Weekend, 14–16 November are going fast and the early-bird swag bags for the first 200 badge holders are almost gone. If you’ve already got a badge, you’re set. If not, now’s the moment to book yours for a weekend of Warmachine and more.

Event updates

Lock & Load 2025 is shaping up to be an epic weekend of metal and mayhem. Please note we made a few updates to some events as stated in a previous blog post:

• The Warmachine Saturday Legacy event has evolved into the Lock & Load Steamroller, offering a full day of action-packed matched play.
  

• Guild Ball will now run as a single condensed Saturday event — 1-day passes for Guild Ball are now available for a packed Saturday slamfest of throwing down on the pitch!.

What’s on:

• Iron Gauntlet finals, the Last Chance Qualifier, and Iron Arena all weekend
  

• Guild Ball Tournament on Saturday with 1-day passes available now, plus 8-player scrambles

• P3 Paint & Take and the P3 Grandmaster painting competition — The P3 Grandmaster is back! Bring your best painted army and win 1st/2nd/3rd place prizes or enter the Grandmaster singles. One champion will take home the title!

• State of the Iron Kingdoms seminar — Love the world building of the Iron Kingdoms? Join lore maestro Sherwin Matthews as he unpacks the stories, characters, and secrets behind Warmachine’s ever-evolving setting. Bring your questions and geek out with fellow lore fans.

• Iron Kingdoms RPG sessions— Step into the world of high adventure with a guided RPG session. Whether you're new to roleplaying or a seasoned dice-slinger, this small-group experience is packed with storytelling, laughs, and unexpected twists. Limited spaces — grab your ticket early

• Warmachine narrative events — Dive into a story-driven Warmachine experience where every battle helps shape the narrative. Themed missions, exciting twists, and community storytelling—perfect for players who love flavour as much as firepower.

Get your Lock & Load badge — book your weekend and grab a bag of exclusive swag while it lasts.

SFG keynote: Saturday, 15 November

Join us live at Lock & Load as we reveal what’s next for Steamforged and Warmachine. We’ll stream straight to the Warmachine YouTube and Steamforged YouTube channels, so whether you are on site or at home, you can be there when the curtain lifts.

Set a reminder: Subscribe on YouTube so you don’t miss the start.

ICYMI: a giant teaser

Mat Hart has been busy with some truly giant drudgery.

Mat's painted a handful of outrageously huge, one-off Iconoclast Drudges for the upcoming Lock & Load narrative event, ready for the showdown.

This is exclusive to the narrative event, not a tease for new minis, but they’ll absolutely steal the scene.

Join the story: Pick up your Lock & Load badge and get into the narrative.

That’s us for this Wednesday. Tell us what you’re playing this week, show us your November prints, and if you’re coming to Lock & Load, we’ll see you at the tables.

Monthly MiniCrate: Hellyth, Ghost of Nightfall.

Hellyth, Ghost of Nightfall joins the MiniCrate monthly subscription this November as a striking alternate sculpt of Hellyth, Scyir of Nightfall from the Dusk House Kallyss Battlegroup Box. Once a proud Scyir of House Rhyslyrr, Hellyth’s name carries the weight of both tragedy and triumph.

This version presents her in a style inspired by the Ghosts of Ios, the refugee mage hunters who still fight to preserve the legacy of their people. It imagines Hellyth as she might have been remembered among the last defenders of Ios before the rise of the Empire of Eternal Dusk.

Subscribe from Oct 28 to midnight (23:59 ET) on 27 November to receive Hellyth, Ghost of Nightfall, shipping in late December. Each MiniCrate includes one exclusive model, available only during its featured month.

Subscribers receive a new, limited-edition miniature every month, perfect for collectors who love discovering something special with each delivery.

Download the Warmachine App

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