Black Library Releases 23-Page Tooth and Claw Extract via Warhammer Community

Black Library has released a downloadable extract titled "Pages from the Black Books – Tooth and Claw," curated by the Black Library editorial team and published via Warhammer Community on March 5, 2026. Warhammer Community states, "This download collects 23 pages from 2016’s Book Six: Retribution, which focused on the activities of the Blackshields, Shattered Legions, and other guerilla forces that fought for survival after the devastating Dropsite Massacre."

Book Six: Retribution (2016) provides the source material for the extract, and the 23 pages emphasize the aftermath of the Dropsite Massacre and the guerrilla warfare undertaken by Blackshields and Shattered Legions. That focus places the extract squarely in Horus Heresy territory rather than modern Warhammer 40,000 battlefield scenarios, aligning the download with the Black Books of the Horus Heresy series Warhammer Community is serializing.

The Warhammer Community post situates "Tooth and Claw" within its ongoing "Pages from the Black Books" series and leans into adjacent Legiones Astartes coverage. The site’s editorial copy notes, "Our journey through the legendary Black Books of the Horus Heresy has kept us perilously close to the World Eaters this week – and, after we learned all about their berserker proclivities last week, we’re not sure that’s a safe place to be. Nevertheless, there’s more to learn about Angron’s bloody-handed sons, so we’re sticking with it like the best Remembrancers of the Heresy did." The page also includes an offhand line, "We pronounce it 'Boddut', but that’s just us," preserved in the Warhammer Community capture.

Readers should note the title collision: Lexicanum documents a different product called "Tooth and Claw" that is unrelated to the Black Books extract. Lexicanum describes the 2018 boxed product as "a great-value boxed set containing 2 armies split across the forces of the Space Wolves … and the Genestealer Cults" with "A 40-page softback book containing:" scenarios for Vigilus, a manufacturer listed as Games Workshop, "Released | 2018," "Players | 2," and new miniatures headings including Primaris Battle Leader, Space Wolves primaris upgrade kit, and Genestealer Aberrants. That boxed set was released at the end of August 2018 and is distinct from the Horus Heresy extract drawn from 2016’s Retribution.

Community dissemination already appears in Warhammer discussion channels. The captured site scrape shows the extract cross-posted or mentioned on Reddit, including a thread titled "Pages from the Black Books – Tooth and Claw" in r/Warhammer30k and references to r/AdeptusMechanicus, r/oldhammer40k, and r/Warhammer40k. The PDF capture bundled with the scrape also included a "Related Answers Section" carrying community-sourced tips and lines such as "The start collecting box is rather good and economical" and a user remark captured as "Congratulations to the Legio Custodes on their new release!" attributed to Diocletian.

Warhammer Community closes the post by flagging the next installment: "Next week we continue with our look at the Legiones Astartes by spending time with the 'heroes' of this very extract – the Iron Hands." That announcement confirms the Black Books serialization will move from Retribution material toward Iron Hands coverage in the next entry.