Golden Demon AdeptiCon 2026 Finalists Announced, Showcasing Miniature Painting's Best

The fastest way to benchmark your own work against the best in North American miniature painting right now is to pull up Warhammer Community and scroll the Golden Demon AdeptiCon 2026 finalists gallery, which went live April 8. Part Two of the finalist showcase arrives next week, but there is already more than enough to study.

The Slayer Sword this year went to David Arroba from Spain, whose diorama "Prince Vhordrai, Lord of the Crimson Keep" spent 800 hours on his desk before it was ever entered: 400 hours of construction on the miniature and its elaborate base, another 400 hours of painting. "I feel like I'm in a dream, it's amazing," Arroba told Warhammer TV after lifting the sword. He is the clearest example of where the competition's highest honour has been trending: away from standalone miniatures and toward fully staged, scene-driven dioramas.

That current runs straight through the finalist gallery. Andy Wardle's silver in the Diorama category was a caster and spirit wolf duo built around deliberate colour contrast, pulling muted earthy tones in the trees and ground against the luminous glow of the wolf and the crystal in the mage's staff. The technique is not incidental. Directing the viewer's eye through a tightly controlled environmental palette rather than surface ornamentation alone is exactly the kind of compositional thinking judges rewarded across multiple categories this year, and it is the first pattern worth internalising before your next build.

The second is integrated narrative basing. Across the Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar categories, finalists who separated from the field built scenes, not pedestals. The Diorama category podium demonstrated that a strong base is no longer a bonus point: it is load-bearing structure for the final score.

Third, the international composition of the field signals where the talent pool now sits. Across 16 categories at Milwaukee's Baird Center, 40 unique artists received awards, with entrants traveling from Spain, Denmark, France, Poland, Germany, and across North America. Judging was carried out by Games Workshop alongside guest judge Erik Swinson. The Open Competition category, which allows the widest interpretive range, was topped by Alfonso Giraldes Bourbon, a name that carries serious weight far beyond this single event. At the other end of the experience spectrum, Bruce Rose took silver in Necromunda for his first-ever Golden Demon win. Magnus Nielsen claimed Blood Bowl gold and Ivan Bocic topped Epic Scale, continuing the category consistency that makes the returner field so formidable: 28 of the 40 artists recognised had won at prior Golden Demon events.

The competition ran March 25 to 29, 2026 as part of AdeptiCon weekend, making this the 179th Golden Demon overall and the fifth held at the North American leg. Painters now preparing for the European edition at SPIEL Essen in October have a clear reference point. The diorama format, purposeful colour contrast, and narrative basing are not emerging trends at AdeptiCon 2026. They are the established standard against which every entry is being measured.