Tanks thundered and Primarchs fell as the Australian Defence Force Academy became a miniature battlespace for HeroCon 2025.

Nearly 200 Defence personnel and civilians fought across 15 game systems from November 29-30 in the ADF Wargaming Association’s second annual event. 

In the flagship Warhammer 40,000 competition, Captain Jawad Salah finished fifth from a field of 58 to secure the ADF Champion Perpetual Trophy as the highest placed ADF competitor; his second consecutive HeroCon title.

“There are a lot of fantastic players in the ACT, so they gave me a run for my money,” Captain Salah said. 

Usually a Chaos Daemons commander, he fielded Imperial Guard for the first time – trading sorcery for steel with an armour-heavy list built around tanks. 

He said opponents could often cut down four or five, but the remaining guns routinely swung the fight his way.

“It feels very clichéd for people in the Army to play Imperial Guard, so I wanted to give it a go and had a good run. It was quite a bit of fun,” he said.

Captain Salah said the tempo and decision-making on the tabletop mirrored Army habits.

“Defence trains you to be able to make effective decisions quickly, especially as junior NCOs and officers,” he said. 

“You can look at the board and be lost or you can know exactly what to do. There’s a healthy translation between real life and the hobby.”

Air Force Corporal Joshua Brown won the Warhammer 40,000 painting competition with his Ultramarines, pairing the HeroCon title with his Anzac Cup painting award from April. 

'There’s a healthy translation between real life and the hobby.'

Since that event he has painted more than half the army presented, building a list that leaned into the chapter’s lore and adding extra detail across key units. 

“I strive to emulate as much theme and realism to my units and armies, to encapsulate their lore and uniqueness, which we, as hobbyists, read in novels and see in video games,” Corporal Brown said.

On the table he logged a minor win and a major loss, with three more matches lost by victory points, but gained valuable experience in strategy and how different armies play.

His favourite moment came in the tournament opener: a cinematic clash capped by a Primarch-versus-Primarch duel in which both leaders fell after taking each other out. 

His painting goal is to win the Anzac Cup next year, but said Herocon 2026 was his main objective.

Lieutenant Commander Nathan Phillips rolled the dice on Kill Team, a squad-based skirmish game set in the Warhammer 40k universe, which he had only been playing for a few months.

“If you look at it purely on numbers, it went poorly. I came absolutely dead last but had a great time,” he said. 

“Between games I could just hang out with the community, get to know a few people running it and play multiple games back to back and actually develop my understanding of how my teams play.”

He chose Mandrakes – shadowy raiders with eldritch, Cthulhu-like lore – because their interesting background drew him in as much as the rules on the table.

In Warhammer – The Old World, Warrant Officer Class 2 Luke Judd received the tournament organiser’s choice award for overall best player.

Other tables across the hall hosted One Page Rules, Star Wars: Armada, The Horus Heresy, Warmachine, BattleTech, Mortem et Gloriam, Flames of War, Bolt Action and Kings of War.

Participants raised $9000 for Soldier On through ticket and raffle sales. The association raised $15,500 overall in 2025.