The Maelstrom is stirring. In a wave of reveals dropped during Games Workshop’s New Year Preview, both sides of the galactic piracy ledger got updates: Prince Yriel and his Aeldari corsairs return with sleeker aircraft and psychic trickery, while Huron Blackheart’s Red Corsairs expand their raiding empire with a fresh troop kit and a fearsome retinue. Toss in a stack of Age of Sigmar additions for the Ossiarch Bonereapers and you have a hobbyist’s buffet of models, rules and narrative hooks.
Prince Yriel and the Eldritch Raiders
Prince Yriel leads the Eldritch Raiders battleforce, and he does it in style. The new boxed set gives Yriel a new miniature—complete with his Spear of Twilight and signature back banners—and a helmeted option for players who prefer a less theatrical look. More importantly for players, the box introduces the Corsair Skyreavers: winged jump-pack shock troops designed to punch hard in close quarters. The ten Skyreavers can be built as two squadrons or a single unit and offer a wide range of weapon and head options so your raiders never look cookie-cutter.
Adding warp-guided precision to the raid is Kharseth, the Void Dreamer. Functionally a psyker tied to void-navigation, Kharseth brings flavour and battlefield effects that lean into the Aeldari’s uncanny control of the empyrean—freezing, ripping psychic attacks that make the Corsairs’ hit-and-run playstyle deadlier.
And yes, the Vyper finally gets a modern kit. Reborn as the Starfang variant, the new model brings Aeldari air aesthetics up to date with sculpting that lets a redesigned gun pod sit in multiple positions. It’s a versatile little flyer that suits hit-and-run corsair tactics: punch fast, then vanish into the void.
Huron and the Red Corsairs: A New Look at Renegade Angels
On the darker side of the Maelstrom, Huron Blackheart returns with the Lords of the Maelstrom battleforce. The set pairs a new Huron miniature and his inner circle—the Masters of the Maelstrom—with a brand-new plastic kit of Red Corsair Raiders. These aren’t daemon-spattered mutants; they’re Space Marines who turned traitor without the obvious trappings of Chaos gods. The aesthetic is scavenged, lived-in, and aggressively piratical.
The Raiders kit includes ten models and a Reave-Captain leader option: brutal, charismatic commanders who maintain iron discipline over crews who’ve traded Imperial order for personal license. The boxed wave also leans on familiar Chaos cores—Legionaries, Terminators, Traitor Guard—alongside upgrade sprues and transfer sheets so you can shell out a proper fleet look for Huron’s forces.
If you’ve been tracking GW’s rollout rhythm, these Maelstrom releases feel like part of a larger push of focused detachment boxes and narrative rules. There’s even a new Maelstrom boxed ruleset on the horizon—an anthology of lore, detachment rules and campaign material that echoes the recent 500 Worlds approach and aims to tie these raiding forces into a playable theatre of war.
Age of Sigmar: Ossiarch Additions
The New Year Preview wasn’t only about 40K. The Ossiarch Bonereapers received a healthy set of updates in Age of Sigmar: new war chariots, the Mortek Triaxes archers, Mortis Reapers (stealthy assassins with necrocaches), and command pieces like Liege-Kavalos and Liege-Mortek. These add both mechanical variety and evocative modelling opportunities—bone steeds, three-eyed archers with balefire braziers, and bone-choked chariots that feel distinctly Mortisan.
A new Battletome for the Ossiarchs will collect rules, art and Path to Glory content for the faction, including new army-building options and themed Regiments and Armies of Renown. For players who want cavalry and chariot-focused lists, there’s a spearhead and a regiment bundle to get you started quickly.
What this means for hobbyists and players
For painters and kitbashers, the wave is attractive: new sculpts for classic silhouettes (the Vyper), plenty of head and weapon choices for unit variety, and transfer sheets to make forces look cohesive across legacy and new kits. For competitive and narrative players, the Maelstrom boxed rules and themed detachments mean there are likely to be tailored lists and campaign hooks that reward building around the new models.
The wider 40K cadence matters here—Games Workshop is still rolling through focused drops as it prepares the next major steps for the game. If you’re following rumours about future faction reveals, see also the recent chatter around other upcoming releases like the teased Iron Warriors, which suggest GW’s release calendar remains busy and faction-focused [/news/warhammer-40k-teases-iron-warriors]. And for those tracking representation and roster diversification across GW’s ranges, recent studio updates such as new Custodian models show the company continuing to broaden its lineup [/news/games-workshop-introduces-first-female-custodians].
Whether you’re a fan of sleek craftworld elegance, blood-soaked pirate lords, or ossified war-chariots, the New Year Preview hands out fresh toys and tactics. The Maelstrom promises to be a lively theatre for hobby and tabletop drama alike—expect skirmishes, boarding actions, and some very pretty paintjobs on both sides.
If you want to keep an eye on exact release dates and component breakdowns as GW posts pre-orders, the Warhammer Community hub is the best place to watch for official product pages and battletome details.