Grot Week begins, Warhammer 40,000 puts Gretchin in the spotlight

The smallest Orks just got the loudest launch beat. Grot Week opened on April 27, 2026 with Gretchin front and center, and Warhammer Community made the point plain: the Orks are launching their Waaagh! with the new edition of Warhammer 40,000, and the Grots are part of that push, not a throwaway punchline.

That matters because this first-day reveal framed Gretchin as more than comic relief. Warhammer Community leaned into the idea that, while Orks may treat them as expendable cannon fodder, they are still dangerous in numbers. Their blastas were presented as crude, effective weapons, the kind of kit that creates real mischief on the tabletop and reinforces what Orks have always done best: overwhelm space, clog lanes, and make cheap units matter in a fight over objectives.

The bigger story is the cadence. Warhammer Community said another Gretchin would be shown each day through the week, with Grot Week ending in a full unboxing of Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon on Friday, May 1, 2026, at 7pm BST. That turns a string of tiny model reveals into a release countdown with a clear payoff: the full contents of the boxed set, including miniatures, cards, books, and more.

That launch box was first laid out at AdeptiCon on March 26, 2026, when Warhammer Community revealed the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 and confirmed that it would arrive with Armageddon at the center of the story. The setting is classic Ork-versus-Imperium spectacle. The Ork vanguard led by Wazdakka Gutsmek has landed, Ghazghkull Thraka’s main force is close behind, and Commissar Sebastian Yarrick has sent out a plea for aid as Operation Imperator gathers Space Marines from many Chapters to reinforce the planet.

Games Workshop has spent late March and April building the same world piece by piece, from the March 30 Boss Nob reveal to rules posts and pre-order coverage tied to the Armageddon wave. That makes Grot Week feel less like a novelty and more like a signal about where this launch is going: toward a model range that gives the Orks personality, table presence, and a lot of hobby demand in one of the biggest 40k release moments of the year.

On a release built around Armageddon, the smallest greenskins suddenly have the clearest job: make the Waaagh! feel alive from the very first reveal.