Warhammer 40k unveils Graves, Vigilance, and new mechanised Guard vehicles

Astra Militarum lists just got a clear nudge toward armour-heavy pressure. Games Workshop’s April 16 reveal put Commissar Graves and her command vehicle Vigilance at the center of a new Armageddon wave that also brings the Hippogriff AFV and the Centaur RSV, and the message for Guard builders is simple: this is about moving, scoring and hitting back hard, not sitting in the back line.

The bigger picture matters as much as the kits themselves. GW had already framed the return to Armageddon at AdeptiCon 2026 in Milwaukee, and the new release sits inside Armageddon: The Return of Yarrick, a three-book slipcase that includes six new vehicle-focused detachments for Astra Militarum, Orks and Space Marines, plus the Armoured Gauntlet supplement. With Commissar Sebastian Yarrick back in the campaign line, these vehicles are not being sold as random resin curiosities. They are being tied directly to one of 40k’s most recognizable warzones.

Graves is the headline for anyone looking to build around a mounted command package. Warhammer Community’s rules preview presents her as a heavily armed, mobile command character whose ride does real work on the tabletop. Vigilance can absorb punishment, crash into enemy lines and function as a command platform, while the Mechanised Spearhead rule rewards forces built around Centaurs and Chimeras by handing out free Orders to Regiment units that disembark close to Graves. Duty and Honour! pushes that pressure onto contested ground, and the Aquiline Prow rule turns the front of Vigilance into an impact weapon that can inflict mortal wounds before Graves finishes survivors with Manus Mortis. Graves also remains viable on foot, with Brutal Disciplinarian scaling her aura depending on whether she is mounted.

The mounted entourage adds another layer of flavour and utility. The Right Hand is an Officio Prefectus retinue made up of one banner bearer and two heavy stubber operators, reinforcing that this is a command node, not just a transport. On the vehicle side, the Centaur RSV looks tailor-made for aggressive objective play, carrying 10 Guardsmen plus two Characters, firing out through Firing Deck 12 and gaining up to 4 additional OC depending on how many Guardsmen are inside. The Hippogriff AFV rounds out the package as a flexible gun platform with a heavy lascannon, vigilator cannon, melta cannon or chiron gatling cannon, plus either a heavy stubber or meltagun as secondary armament. Goonhammer’s read is blunt: these lighter vehicles widen the Guard’s armored range and should be especially welcome for mechanised Astra Militarum lists.