With last year’s Arena of Escalation being such a success, both with you, the fans, and internally amongst all those who participated, we just knew we had to keep the momentum going for 2025. As soon as it was announced internally, there was no shortage of people clamoring to sign up for one of the spots as a contestant. We are a company of hobbyists, after all, who don’t just make and sell the best paint in the miniature world; we also use it, live it, and paint with it just as often as all of you!
However, there are a few exciting changes to the Arena for this year. As you may have already noticed, the name looks a little different. That’s right, it’s now called the Arena Challenge in honour of our new cross-system army painting competition, The Army Painter Challenge. First held at this year’s Las Vegas Open with a little helps from our friends at Best Coast Pairings, we’ll be incorporating much of the ethos and painting rubric from it into this year’s Arena.
Secondly, this year, we’re broadening our reach outside of the grim darkness of the far future. Now, our contestants will be split between the war-torn battlefields of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 and their high-fantasy setting of Age of Sigmar. High-tech, gothic post-humans will parade alongside forest sprites and ghoulish undead alike.
Lastly, the scope of the army-building process has been reined in a bit for those who wish to follow it. Last year’s goal was to complete a 2,000-point army, which, while a few accomplished, many also struggled, and understandably so! That’s a lot of minis to paint. It also proved to be a bit unwieldy for the game day that capped it all off, especially with several first-timers amongst us learning the ins and outs of the game itself. To help with both hurdles, the Arena Challenge will be structured around the Combat Patrol and Spearhead systems for each game setting, respectively. What this means is that at a minimum, each contestant will paint the contents of their faction’s Combat Patrol or Spearhead. Also, when we all meet for the game day to wrap it all up, we’ll be playing in a Combat Patrol and Spearhead tournament, which will be easier to handle, will allow us to get more games in, and should be much more manageable for our schedule.
What about the spectacle of a full army, I hear you ask? While they’re only required to paint the contents of their Combat Patrol or Spearhead, every contestant is encouraged to build and paint beyond that limit if they so wish. While those units won’t be a part of the games we play, they will be a part of The Army Painter Challenge competition at the end, where the best-looking collections will be chosen by our paint judges from amongst both game systems.
Whew, that’s a lot to go over, but now that we have the basic parameters down, how will it all work? We’ll be checking in with our contestants over the course of the next 9 – 10 months to get updates on their progress, see some amazingly painted minis, and follow along with a few tutorials, both in video and written formats. These updates will be split up between the Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar settings and culminate in our coverage of the final game day and glorious photos of each completed army.
Now, the most important part – time to meet the contestants!
Games Workshop’s Age of Sigmar setting is a gloriously vibrant high-fantasy world, full of fantastical creatures and god-like beings (including actual gods as well). The Mortal Realms called out to four of our contestants, who are eager to set our equally vibrant paints from the Warpaints Fanatic, Air, and Speedpaint ranges to the task of bringing these miniatures to life.
Adam: When we decided to open up Arena of Escalation to other game systems, I knew exactly what I wanted to do - Sylvaneth! Or, as my younger self would have called them, Wood Elves. Back in the mid-to-late '90s, they were my very first army.
So, this edition is a bit personal for me - an homage to the army that first pulled me into the world of miniatures and, in a way, set me on the path to The Army Painter. It’s a full-circle moment, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally bring these forest spirits to life on the tabletop.
Danni: I really wanted to give Age of Sigmar a go after trying out 40k for the last Arena. After a bit of back-and-forth, I decided to go with Nighthaunt. They were actually on the bottom of my list of armies. I thought they might be too difficult to paint for a semi-newbie like myself with all the gradients and ethereal effects, but I found a colour scheme that I thought could work that relies more on a corporeal, bloody shroud look instead.
Jonathan: I was stoked to be asked to be in this year’s Arena Challenge and represent one of my favorite tabletop games, Age of Sigmar. I’ve been playing a long time, but I never got the chance to shout WAAAAAAAGH at the top of my lungs, so I chose the mighty Ironjawz. The models are great and a solid opportunity to get better at painting lots of yellow. I wanted something fun and a little silly, so they seemed a logical choice for me.
Also, the centerpiece model of the range is a huge Orruk riding an angry cabbage, so there’s that!
Oliver: For this year’s challenge, I decided to move on from Nurgle, who is normally my go-to when painting Chaos models, and do a T’zeentch force instead.
I do not normally play Age of Sigmar, and I am excited for it, but many of the models in this army can also be fielded in a Thousand Sons force as well, so my thinking is that when their Codex arrives later in the year, I’m already ´in´ for that release. More projects for the project god!
The grim darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 setting by Games Workshop is a fan favourite amongst many of our contestants, so much so that we have double the number of entrants! The battlefields, and therefore tabletops and painting desks, of the far future are the perfect palette for some of our grimier and grimmer paints and techniques but are also equally suited to the clean and vibrant. Which direction will these mad warlords go?
Bo: I have always loved converting – and historically, I almost exclusively collected melee-centered armies. So, Creations of Bile Chaos Space Marines is the perfect choice as I get to go both medieval on creating my mutated miniatures and also get to swing away in melee!
Lasse: This time around, I’m going for some Necrons! I’ve always liked the idea of them but never really loved the models - so I’m taking it into my own hands to kit-bash some that will look more like robots and less like people.
Thomas: I really looked forward to taking part in another round of Arena of Escalation! This year, I wanted to build and paint a competitive 40K army. I decided to go with either T’au or Eldar, and my final choice went to a T’au army.
Get ready for gritty, grimy and dirty T’au!
Ulrik: I genuinely never cared for green or the Unforgiven, but recently, I've come to appreciate how the extensive lore of the Dark Angels can be interpreted and reiterated in ways I can relate to and truly enjoy. Specifically, by utilising our Green Air Triad, I want to customise my Combat Patrol into a quick yet striking scheme featuring a nuance of green that I enjoy, while also making some “minor” alterations, given the likelihood that a Fallen has snuck into my army.
But, that's a secret between you and me.
Tim: I chose the most respected race in the galaxy – the Kroot! There's something very sportsmanlike about an army that invites their enemies to dinner after a battle.
Ian: I have picked Tyranids because I want to use Speedpaints, and I think these are the perfect models to gain experience using these fantastic paints. My chosen Hive Fleet is Tiamet, and with a perfect selection of teals, blues and pinks, I am very excited to get started.
Erasmus: This year, I’m back and excited to paint up the start of a Sisters of Battle army.
I have always wanted a really well-painted Sisters army in the classic Order of the Ebon Chalice paint scheme, so I look forward to getting some ladies clad in black power armor on the table!
Steffen: I chose the Adeptus Custodes because there's just something about these super elite soldiers and their ostentatious look that appeals to me. It will be a lot of fun painting them up with the fantastic array of metallics in the Warpaints Fanatic, Air, and Speedpaint ranges.
Which models are you most looking forward to seeing? Check back in soon for the first round of updates showcasing all the test models from both Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 as our contestants start revving up into gear for this year’s Arena Challenge!
Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay abreast of all the latest updates and bookmark our Arena hub on the blog. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, BlueSky, Threads, and TikTok to see all the latest news and tutorials.
We encourage you to participate in the Arena Challenge at home by painting your own Combat Patrol or Spearhead with Warpaints Fanatic, Air, or Speedpaint. Be sure to tag your posts with #thearmypainter and #arenachallenge so we can follow along with your progress!
