Explore every episode of the podcast Midlife Heresy: A Warhammer Podcast

What if Erebus stubbed his toe and died on Day 1 of the Great Crusade? What if Magnus actually listened to Malcador? And what if Guilliman tried to manage Angron’s anger with an Excel spreadsheet?

On this episode of Midlife Heresy, Matt and Lucas pull on the loose threads of Warhammer 40K lore to test the Butterfly Effect. We take tiny, seemingly insignificant changes to the history of the Imperium and follow the dominoes as they crash down across 10,000 years of grimdark history.

What happens when you give two beginners with very little Warhammer interest and zero Warhammer knowledge access to the Games Workshop webstore with a strict 1,000-point budget, and a theoretical limitless credit card? Complete tactical anarchy, surprisingly expensive taste, and far more Titanic units then is sensible.

In this episode, Matt and Lucas put their marriages (and their wallets) to the test as they reveal the 1,000-point Warhammer 40,000 lists built entirely by their wives. One went full speed demon with the White Scars, while the other was drawn to the sleek, space-elf aesthetics of the Aeldari. Neither had any idea what the rules were — they followed the ultimate rule of cool.

Join us as we break down the lists, run through the official Midlife Heresy Wife Army Rating System™, and ask the ultimate question: Has she accidentally made a new meta?

Power Creep, Codexes, and 11th Edition Chaos.

Three months into 11th Edition and Games Workshop is already ripping up the rulebook. In this episode, Matt and Lucas sit down to tackle the big questions every middle-aged tabletop gamer is asking: how do we deal with the 40k power creep? And are the rules, detachments and changes getting so bloated we can’t keep up without staring at our phones?

We break down the massive shift for Space Marines, controversial Legends moves and the brand-new Ork Codex as well as taking an overall look at the 11th Edition Arms Race.

Oh and Matt finally changes his t-shirt.

***SPECIAL GUEST ALERT***

This week on midlife Heresy, Matt and Lucas sit down with the one and only James from Tabletop tactics.

We talk about his origin story, what happens when your hobby becomes your job, and the behind the scenes of creating one of the hobbies most popular video series.

This is not one to miss.

We Pick Our Inquisitorial Retinues

The Emperor has personally summoned us, handed over an Inquisitorial Rosette, and sent us to investigate a planet where everything has gone catastrophically wrong. The catch? We have no idea if we're fighting Chaos, Xenos, Heretics, or all three—so we’re drafting our ultimate 8-man retinues to handle the mess.

Join Matt and Lucas as we take on the roles of newly appointed Inquisitors, setting up a competitive draft to build the most functional (or completely unhinged) squads in Warhammer 40K.

Help us find the other middle-aged idiots who rediscovered Warhammer! If you enjoyed this episode, copy the link and drop it into your local gaming WhatsApp group, send it to a mate, or share it with your club. Help us hit our target of 50 new followers before the next drop!

Have a heretical 40K opinion or a confession of your own? Send it in to be featured on the next show.

When 1,500 points of Chaos Space Marines clash with ancient Necron steel, plans don't survive contact with Turn 1.

In this episode, Matt and Lucas sit down for a complete post-match autopsy of their latest Warhammer 40k battle. We’re breaking down everything—from deployment blunders and game-changing swings to the exact moment it all went off the rails.

This week, we share the magic of introducing new players to the tabletop, break down how 40K actually works at a high level, and reveal the golden rules for picking your very first army (hint: rule #1 is "coolness over meta").

Plus, we tackle:

• Major beginner mistakes to avoid (including the dreaded immediate pile of shame).

• Essential tips for surviving your first game without melting your brain.

• What we’d do differently if we were starting from scratch today.

Whether you're battling painting anxiety or just trying to decide between Space Marines and Tyranids, grab your clippers, pour a coffee, and join us for some midlife hobby wisdom.

👉 Listener Question: If you could give just one piece of advice to someone buying their very first Warhammer army, what would it be? Drop your answers in the Spotify Q&A!

Everything You Need to Know Without Reading 400 Pages of Rules (from 2 Idiots).

Warhammer 40k 11th Edition is here, and if you’ve ever looked at a tournament stream, stared blankly at a wall of rules, or charged a squad into certain death purely because "it looked awesome," this one’s for you.

We aren’t tournament champions, but we have made every tactical blunder humanly possible so you don't have to. In this episode, we break down the core essentials of 11th Edition into plain, jargon-free English using our own recent game as a cautionary tale.

With the World Cup final only days away, Matt and Lucas pick their Warhammer 40k starting 11.

Everyone thinks their favorite fictional hero could conquer Warhammer 40,000. But we aren't asking who wins, who's strongest, or who has the best plot armor. Today, we are asking one brutal question: Who simply survives?

We’re dropping 10 iconic pop-culture icons—including Master Chief, Batman, Luke Skywalker, and the Doom Slayer—into the grim darkness of the far future to see if they can last a single year.

Will the Adeptus Mechanicus worship Optimus Prime or strip him for parts? Is the Warp trapped in there with the Doom Slayer? And how many seconds does a "Inquisition Speedrun" actually take?

Hit play for our most chaotic, tangent-filled lore debate yet. Who did we miss? Drop your survival picks in the comments!

I'm out… or am I?

Welcome to the grimdark Den. In this episode, Matt and Lucas are trading their dice for business suits and pitting two completely original, homebrew factions against the ultimate test: each other.

The rules are simple: We’ve each designed a brand-new, completely original 40k faction from scratch. We have 10 minutes to pitch the lore, the aesthetic, the army mechanics, and the centerpiece model. Then, the investor takes the gloves off for their brutal due diligence.Get involved in the Spotify Q&A: Which faction gets funded, and which one is heading straight to the FAQs?

A few weeks ago, we dug through the galactic rubbish heap to crown the ultimate villain of the 41st millennium. Today, we’re trying to cleanse our souls.

Welcome back to Midlife Heresy, and welcome to The Golden Aquila Awards! This week, Matt and Lucas are looking at the other side of the coin: Who is the greatest hero in Warhammer 40,000?

From the administrative exhaustion of Guilliman and the literal depression of Dante, to the xenos defiance of Farsight and the pure human grit of Commissar Yarrick, we are putting them all to the test.

Can anyone actually top the tragic nobility of Sanguinius? Or will a grumpy Space Wolf steal the crown? Listen in to find out, and let us know: Did we get it right?

This week, the brain behind Deathcompany Dropout joins Lucas and Matt to discuss how he became the internet's favorite 40k rules translator. We chat about his hobby origins, favorite lore, and how he's rating 11th Edition so far.

Stay tuned until the end to hear our deep, dark hobby confessions—because even a Space Marine has secrets.

Today, we are launching the ultimate Exterminatus. No fixes. No balance dataslates. No "maybe they'll get better in the next Codex." We are permanently deleting one faction, one unit, one legendary hero, one rule, and one toxic hobby practice from existence. Forever.

Will the T'au get binned? Is Guilliman heading back to his stasis pod permanently? And which one of us is about to lose our hobby license for our take on unpainted armies?

And once you're done screaming at your headphones, we want to hear from you. If you could permanently delete one thing from the hobby—a faction, unit, hero, rule, or hobby trend—what is going in your personal incinerator? Drop a comment and let us know!

Grab your power armor and your scorecards, because the Midlife Heresy boys are tackling the ultimate grimdark question: Who is the absolute greatest villain in Warhammer 40,000?

This week, Matt and Lucas lay down strict judging criteria based on evilness, setting impact, miniature coolness, and just how badly you want to hit them in the jaw. We put eight of the galaxy’s worst offenders on trial—from Abaddon’s "meme-escaping" black crusades to Fabius Bile’s human-skin trench coat chic.

...the Audience Strikes Back...

Normally on this podcast, we complain about rules updates, grey plastic, and hobbying challenges in the midlife. But today, we’re doing something radical: being positive. We’re taking an episode to read out the incredibly kind messages and reviews left by you, the listeners.

Why read a 120-page codex when you can just button-mash your way through a horde of Orks? This week on Midlife Heresy, we’re taking a deeply biased, intensely nostalgic trip through three decades of Warhammer video games.

From the ancient 90s era—where tutorials didn't exist and the developers actively hated you—to the absolute peak of Dawn of War (yes, we discuss why DoW III hurt us), right up to modern masterpieces like Space Marine 2. We debate whether 40K or Fantasy makes a better game, pitch some utterly ridiculous dream titles (Ork mechanics powered by pure belief, anyone?), and confess to buying absolute train wrecks just because the box art looked cool.

Don't let your vox-casters fail you—hit that Follow button on Spotify so you never miss an episode!

Today, Midlife Heresy commits the ultimate midlife sin: competence. For our very first guest episode, we’re joined by the masterminds behind Black Mantle to discuss how grown adults end up spending their precious evening hours edge-highlighting tiny plastic shoulders.

We dive deep into hobby origin stories, confront our collective Piles of Shame, and ask the hard-hitting questions: Are airbrushes essential tools or just expensive propaganda? Why does everyone secretly want to drink the paint water? Plus, Matt and Lucas pitch some groundbreaking (and deeply unhinged) new product ideas, including an alarm system designed to save your £30 brush from a caffeine-induced death. Grab a beverage, hide your grey plastic, and join the heresy.

Let’s be honest: your Warhammer 40K addiction started with a box of Space Marines. It's okay, you’re in a safe space. This week, we’re dissecting the "gateway drug" of the grimdark future. We break down why everyone starts with these genetic super-soldiers, why they’re incredibly forgiving on the tabletop, and how to choose a Chapter you’ll actually still love after painting your 40th identical shoulder pad. Whether you want to play the poster-boy Ultramarines or tragic space vampires, we’ve got your roadmap to avoid the dreaded "default army guy" syndrome.

Grab your Rosette and prepare to judge, because this week we’re playing Inquisitor with the hobby we love/hate. From the mortal sin of "Tactical Grey" armies to the questionable morality of chasing the meta, we’re ruling on what’s acceptable in the 41st Millennium and what deserves a viral orbital bombardment.Is 3D printing a whole army a crime against the Golden Throne? Is canceling a game because your kid has a fever a valid excuse, or just low-tier cowardice? We’re settling the arguments that ruin friendships, break gaming groups, and make your spouse wonder why you own 4,000 points of unpainted plastic.

In this episode we tackle the ultimate tactical nightmare: introducing your offspring to the hobby without filing for bankruptcy or losing your sanity. We’ve all had the dream of a tactical protégé sitting across the table, but the reality involves more spilled Nuln Oil, broken models and chewed dice than the codex prepares you for. Join us as we bridge the gap from Peppa Pig to Plasma Guns and hear why sometimes the greatest victory is losing a game to a six-year-old.

This week, we’re tackling the terrifying prospect of Henry Cavill finally bringing the 41st Millennium to the silver screen. Is the world ready for a multi-million dollar budget dedicated to space-fascists and self flagellation? Can Hollywood resist the urge to give a Chaos Cultist a quirky redemption arc, humorous quips and a "relatable" backstory?

"How much have you actually spent on Warhammer?"

This week, we’re peeling back the curtain on the "sticker shock" of the hobby—from the £30 "thousand cuts" to the reality of building a full 2,000pt army.

We also reframe the debate: Is Warhammer actually more expensive than a golf membership, football season tickets, or a high-end gaming PC? We discuss balancing disposable income with family life and the guilt of "buying toys", share practical tips on using the second-hand market and the "build before buy" rule.

And the Big Question: If you added it all up, would you do it all again?

In this episode of Midlife Heresy, Matt and Lucas dive deep into the gene-vaults to examine the twenty extraordinary sons of the Emperor: The Primarchs.

The two brothers discuss the impending sibling betrayal, nature vs. nurture, how their homeworlds shaped them, and most importantly - The Ultimate Dinner Party. We decide which Primarch we’d actually invite over for Sunday roast. Who’s up for a chat, and who’s going to break the dining room table and kill the cat?

This episode takes us from the muddy trenches of the Imperial Guard to the elegant, doomed spires of the Aeldari. If the Guard represents the struggle of the present, the Eldar represent the terrifying weight of the past.

We’re diving into the "tragic aristocrats" of Warhammer 40,000—a race that ruled the stars, sex-partied a Chaos God into existence, and which have a highly-specialised tabletop army which one of our hosts can never quite win a battle with...

“You’re nineteen, the sky is on fire, and you’re the only thing standing between a nightmare and your home. All you have is a lasgun, a spade and the soldier next to you.”

In this episode of Midlife Heresy, we explore the "Wall of Guns"—the Imperial Guard. In a universe filled with genetically engineered gods and literal demons, why is it the ordinary, fragile human soldier that captures our imagination as we get older in Warhammer 40k?

We’re moving past the "cool factor" of Space Marines to discuss the emotional weight of being a reluctant survivor in a cosmic nightmare. From the industrial tragedy of the trenches to the legendary grit of figures like Commissar Yarrick and Ciaphas Cain, we ask if the Guard’s courage is more meaningful precisely because they can feel fear.

In this episode of Midlife Heresy, we’re stepping away from the rulebooks and dice to explore the soul of the hobby. We ask the defining question: When did Warhammer stop being a game of toy soldiers and become a living, breathing universe?

From the tragic beauty of 4th Edition Wood Elves to the gritty, historical echoes of the Battle of Glazer’s River, we discuss the specific moments the "Grimdark" clicked. We dive deep into why decaying empires and impossible odds resonate more than traditional heroics, and whether the expansion of the Horus Heresy deepened the myth or stripped away the mystery.

In this episode we discuss our return to Warhammer 40k after over 20 years. We talk about what brought us back, what's different in the modern 40k universe, and what we love about being back in the grimdark future.

We also discuss how the lore, models and community have evolved - and whether Warhammer is better now than it was back then.

If you're thinking about getting back into Warhammer 40k, or you've recently returned, this one is for you.