Steamroller 2025, Iron Gauntlet & More! | Warmachine
Wednesday has arrived, which means it’s time for your weekly Warmachine update!
Today’s TL’DR:
- Maelstrom Colossal releasing this Friday
- Steamroller 2025 is out now!
- Warmachine Organized Play updates (“Ooooh!”)
Maelstrom Colossal Releasing January 30
The Maelstrom colossal releases this Friday, January 30!
For a rundown on what the Maelstrom could add to your Cygnar Storm Legion army — the most powerful and complex colossal ever developed and the pinnacle of colossal warjack design — check out the dedicated update.
Steamroller 2025 is Live
TIME TO CHANGE THE GAME. Find this year’s Steamroller in the Warmachine app now or download the PDF in full color or printer friendly version!
For those unfamiliar, Steamroller is the official tournament document for Warmachine. It covers guidelines and rules for running Warmachine tournaments, including:
- Gameplay scenarios for the year
- Tournament Organizer (TO) responsibilities
- Tournament scoring
- Recommended timings
What’s New?
For an audio overview of what’s new in Steamroller 2025, check out the Tried and True podcast interview with Jamie Perkins, Senior Product Owner, and Loren Lower, Playtest and Organized Play Manager:
1 - New Steamroller Scenarios
First off, there are three brand new scenarios:
Color Guard
How flexible is your strategy? Color Guard will test that with objectives that move from turn to turn!
Trench Warfare
In Trench Warfare, each player’s 40 and 50mm objectives give cover and blast resistance to their medium and small-based models. It’s like… well, it’s like trench warfare. Can you dig it?
Best Laid Plans
Best Laid Plans is a semi-successor to Incursion from the days of yore. After the first turn, before you score, a random pair of objectives will disappear from the battlefield! Where do they go? No one knows…*
*Probably back in your widget case
2 - Updated Steamroller Scenarios
Three Steamroller 2024 scenarios have been updated!
Wolves at our Heels
Now, a 40mm objective must cross the centerline of the battlefield to be eligible for bonus victory points, which can happen in any turn of the game.
Payload
It’s still a payday, but it won’t break the bank. Bonus points for delivering the payload have reduced from 5 to 3, making the payload scoring less game-defining. We’ve also clarified how to resolve the payload with different terrain types.
Two Fronts
Previously, this scenario had a 30mm objective placed slightly favorably for the second player. The 30mm objective has been replaced by a flag to mark objective terrain, and is deployed much closer to the center of the battlefield. Which terrain piece is chosen for the objective terrain is still determined by the second player, however.
That brings our total Steamroller 2025 scenarios to six. Recon, Battle Lines, and Invasion scenarios are no more.
3 - 30mm Objectives Removed
30mm objectives have also left the building.
During development of Steamroller 2025, we reached the stage where only one scenario had retained 30mm objectives. On further review, it became clear the best path forward was removing 30mm objectives altogether, rather than keep them in for a single scenario.
4 - Cache Rules Updated
This is part of a wider goal to standardize how objectives are scored and contested. Caches are still scored by any single model forfeiting its action, and once scored, are still removed from the battlefield.
However, the scoring model can now be anywhere within 3” of the cache to score it, rather than base to base.
In addition, caches can now be contested like any other objective. If there are any enemy models within 3” of a cache, it can’t be scored!
Lastly, caches are worth 2 victory points rather than 1, to make them worth the effort of scoring.
Objective terrain has had the same scoring and contesting range change, with both distances moving from 2” to 3”.
5 - Killboxes Galore
It was difficult for many players to remember which scenario didn’t use the Killbox special rule in Steamroller 2024. In Steamroller 2025, all scenarios have a Killbox.
6 - New Icons!
Yes, the thrilling update you were all waiting for! In fact, we’ve given the whole PDF a visual overhaul, both as a refresh and to make it more easily readable. We hope you like it!
7 - Painting Requirements
We all know Warmachine looks its absolute best when painted armies are facing off across thematic terrain tables. The photographs from the 2024 World Team Championship are a fantastic example of just how awesome Warmachine’s table presence can be.
For this reason, Steamroller 2025 encourages you to play with fully painted miniatures. It also includes rules on minimum painting requirements for special and sanctioned events, such as Iron Gauntlet.
AdeptiCon has its own rules requiring all events to be played using fully painted miniatures. After this year’s AdeptiCon (March 2025), all Iron Gauntlet qualifiers will need to enforce fully painted miniatures in order to be sanctioned.
Iron Gauntlet in 2025 and Beyond
We didn’t stop at Steamroller. Warmachine’s Iron Gauntlet is back with a vengeance!
Throughout 2025, community champions around the world will run qualifiers in which Warmachine players will fight epic battles for glory, prizes, and the chance to compete in the prestigious Iron Gauntlet final.
You’ll need to be a decent tactician with good knowledge of the game and one or two practiced lists. (Start building yours now in the Warmachine app.) Be prepared for epic highs, adrenaline-fueled lows, and an experience for the ages!
The Warmachine community is an especially friendly one, so as well as testing your competitive mettle, you’ll get guaranteed games, meet fellow players, and come away with some fantastic stories — a win in itself.
What’s the same?
- As in previous Iron Gauntlets, achieving a spot in the top eight at a qualifier event will still earn you points on the table. The points system works the same as before.
- Qualifiers in the US will grant points towards the US final, to be held at WarFaire Weekend towards the end of this year.
What’s new?
- All Iron Gauntlet events must be played at 100 points
- All Iron Gauntlet events, from AdeptiCon onwards, must require fully painted armies as outlined in Steamroller 2025
How do I get my event sanctioned?
Some events have already been sanctioned as Iron Gauntlet 2025 qualifiers, such as the Las Vegas Open that already took place. We’ll have the full program and sanctioning system live from AdeptiCon 2025.
EDIT: Want your event to be sanctioned as an Iron Gaunlet Qualifier? Apply here!
Where will the final be held?
The US Iron Gauntlet 2025 final will be held at Lock & Load, which will take place at WarFaire Weekend later this year! More details to follow in our AdeptiCon keynote — get your tickets here or sign up for Warmachine updates.
What if I’m not in the US?
There will be another Iron Gauntlet 2025 final for those not based in the States. More details to follow soon!
Legendary Narrative Events
Last year’s narrative events actually helped to shape Warmachine in 2024, resulting in Krueger, Wrath of Blighterghast playing for Cygnar Storm Legion, Khador Winter Korps, and Dusk House Kallyss. Now, it’s 2025’s turn to shine.
Those lucky few who managed to snag a ticket for our AdeptiCon narrative events will be first to experience our brand new GRAVEDIGGER-themed scenario tables, featuring a devastated battlefield where a momentous struggle takes place around a [REDACTED].
There may even be a few tickets left — snag yours here!
Organized Play Support Kits
We’re keen to see Warmachine enjoyed by players of all kinds, whether it’s through narrative events, tournaments, casual weekly leagues, or group hobby sessions. So, we’re putting together a new set of kits to support Organized Play in all its forms.
Keen to know more about our Organized Play kits, Iron Gauntlet 2025, and what’s coming next for Warmachine? Make sure you attend our FIRST EVER Warmachine Keynote at AdeptiCon in March!
Can’t make it to the US? Don’t worry — we’ll have digital updates locked and loaded.
Change Log for January 29, 2025
SUBSCRIBERS
- We’ve been all systems go on releasing Steamroller 2025! The next subscriber content release will be Wednesday, February 5.
ADDITIONS
- Steamroller 2025 has been added to the app
REMOVALS
- None
CORRECTIONS
- Kallus, Devastation of Everblight: Blazing Path text changed for clarification
- Kommander Orsus Zoktavir: Ravager spell removed extraneous mention of lasting for a turn
- Lich Lord Terminus: Ravager spell removed extraneous mention of lasting for a turn
- Spriggan: Add 50 mm base icon
- Strider Blightblades: Blade Weapon Count ×2
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker (Retribution): Remove incorrect mercenary hiring code
- Yuri the Hunter: Tharn Bow correctly marked as a ranged weapon
- Zuriel: Battle Blade Weapon Count ×2
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