Games Workshop will expand the Astra Militarum when it brings back Armageddon's Steel Legion during Warhammer 40K's next edition. Games Workshop surprised fans with the news that the Steel Legion is in the pipeline for release at the outset of its Warhammer Preview show at Adepticon this week, with the caveat that the units are approximately two years away. Preview art for the Steel Legion was shown, with troopers wearing new gas masks, sporting trenchcoats, and armed with a variety of weaponry.
The Steel Legion are one of the home armies of Armageddon, a war-torn planet constantly under attack by a mix of warp demons and unrelenting ork forces. The Steel Legion are part of the Astra Militarum, the Warhammer 40K army representing the common forces of the Imperium of Man. While the Astra Militarum traditionally comprises of forces from numerous worlds, their tabletop forces have shrunk to a handful of sub-factions, primarily from Cadia and the infamous Death Korps of Krieg.
The Steel Legion's return is something of a surprise. While narratively, their return makes sense as 11th edition will focus on a new war for Armageddon, they are often seen as being very close in aesthetic to the Death Korps of Krieg. The Death Korps just received a wide line refresh of plastic miniatures and Games Workshop even released a guide recently stating how players can convert their Death Korps soldiers into Steel Legion characters.
