#primaris space marine in gravis armour

[knightlightminiatures]

Visiting the scene again with another finished project

And the 7th Marine for my custom chapter revival project.

[titanomancy]

Apropos of nothing, all we need is a Captain on Bike and there'll be enough unique, chapter agnostic Captains to run all ten companies.

[ladymirdan]

Cliché question i know but uuuh ya got a favoured mark of armor? In general or for Ultras.

I like MK III on my Blue Bois, adds some chonk.

Oh but it is a good question!

MKIII I really like the helmets of, but they arent my overall fav.

It is kind of hard to decide on just one, but if it has to be done it has to be MK VI for me. Its just the “classic” space marine mark.

I know MK X looks better and cooler in every way, but VI juat makes me happy.

Unpopular opinion tho, I really like Gravis Armour, that thing is CHONKY. I need more units with Gravis.

Something I really like is that GW is introducing relic armour more and more into the Primaris, so having different mark helmets/shoulderpads/whatever is becoming more acceptable.

[betabites]

+++ ADEPTUS ASTARTES CHAPTERS ACTIVE IN TROIAS CLUSTER +++

+++ OFFICIO ADMINISTRATUM MEMORANDUM +++ ++ SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL MAUVE-TAUPE ++

++ AMPHISBAENA ++ Founding: Ultima (presumed Ultramarine successor). Codex compliant. Standard: A snake with two heads, facing each other over a rising sun. Regalia: Blue with green and silver trim. Solar and reptilian motifs. Local assets: Demi-company (4th/2, Phobos & Intercessor armor), reinforced by a 1st Company squad (DN, TDN armour). Gladius Escort Frigate Cetus. Brief: Initial reports mistook them for Ultramarines during the 639th Purge of Medesicaste, but the Amphisbaena liaison dispatched to the local Guard command (Troian 19th Foot, 35th Recon, & 76th Dragoons) soon corrected that misapprehension. De facto attached itself to prior regiments for the duration of the campaign, serving as a elite scout and assault unit. Unfortunate tensions with the Battle Sisters of the Order of the Bloody Sabaton (1st Alius Mater Preceptory), including accusations of "suborning existing hierarchies." Accusations were dismissed by the local Commissar after the Amphisbaena Lieutenant on site made a passionate appeal to "Purge the Enemies, and then do the necessary paperwork." Their sterling conduct in battle, commitment to inter-service operations, and willingness to compromise battleplans in order to protect civilians have won them many allies throughout the cluster. Inquisitor Andominia of the Ordo Hereticus REDACTED was heard to remark, "They're the very model of a Space Marine. Those karkers are up to something. REDACTED"

++ FORLORN HOPE SALAMANDERS ++ Founding: 1st/Ultima (unknown if Salamander proper or a successor chapter). Not Codex compliant. Standard: n/a. Most wear a Gothic "F" in place of Chapter insignia, and "Forlorn Hope Company" is written on vehicles. Regalia: Green with black and gold trim. Fire motifs. Local assets: Short company, with Gravis, Intercessor, & Phobos armour, TDN armour, DNs, and Land Raiders (engines Azula and Nostos). Vanguard Strike Cruiser Riddle of Adamant. Has suborned elements of the Troian 65th Recon, 95th Armour, 104th Armour, and the Dictator Carrier Cruiser Pride of Tomania. Brief: Arrived in sector immediately prior to the Night of a Thousand Rebellions, claiming to be hunting Ymgarl Genestealers. Attacked Gubernatorial Palace on Ilona, killing both the Governor and the ringleaders of the rebellion. Suborned local Guard presence and brainwashed local populace. Active throughout cluster, primarily against local governance. Voxes broadcast by them indicate that Ymgarl Genestealers have infiltrated local Arbites, PDF, and Guard. Statements have been proven false by government-administered Genetic Purity tests. Requests to allow the company's Apothecary access to testing process, sites, and data have been dismissed as baseless. Despite obvious signs of madness in their poorly-kept geneseed, they receive sympathy from the populace, repeated statements of good character from the Battle Sisters of the Order of the Bloody Sabaton, and grudging respect from Guard units they have not purged. Politically unwise to declare renegade at this time.

++ NOBLE SONS OF PYRRUS ++ Founding: 2nd (Blood Angels). Not Codex compliant. Standard: A bell, or a three-armed cross, sometimes one formed from the via negativa of three clustered circles. Regalia: Red with copious gold and white and blue trim. Stripes and stars. Local assets: Multiple companies; precise number varies with nearby crisises, but typically 3-5. Conflicts with the Mechanicus has led to the Sons using older and refurbished armour and vehicles. Battle Barge Second Moon, various strike cruisers (mostly Agentha & Maegaron classes). Recruiting worlds: Briseis & Cressida. Brief: A minor but growing presence throughout most of the cluster's history, the Cicatrix Maledictum has sundered the Sons from their primary recruiting worlds, and they have greatly increased their local presence. As Briseis & Cressida is also the cluster's capital, their stock in cluster politics has correspondingly increased. The Sons treat the Sanguinarian defect in their geneseed by complex archaeo-biological means involving the transmutation of iron into gold. Their internal fluids have been replaced by this golden ichor, which causes much distress in the local menials until they realize it solidifies into pure gold. As a result, their expeditions are typically assisted by a large contingent of irregular militia. Known throughout the cluster as doughty warriors, their expulsion of precious metals causes no end of suspicion and distrust from those afraid of the shifting economic tides, such as from the smiths of the Forlorn Company and the ascetics of the Order of the Bloody Sabaton. But, as a rising tide lifts all boats, they will come to see the benefits of association with the Sons in time.

++ PERYTONS ++ Founding: Unknown, Ultima? (White Scars). Not Codex Compliant. Standard: Many-pronged set of antlers, sometimes framing a heart. Regalia: Teal with green and bronze accents. Hearts, horns, and wings. Local assets: Bike demi-company (6th/2, Phobos, Gravis, & Intercessor armour), with air assets. Nova Frigate Jinate. Brief: Apparently inherited White Scar interests in the nearby Sabbat worlds, including the use of Kreusa as a recruiting world. Their recruiting is in conflict with the local Guard regiments, the 51st Cavalry (Parth's Slammers) and 119th Dragoons (X Ork Hewers X). Their presence also seems to be causing escalating clashes with the persistent Ork infestation. Tensions are also high with the Kreusa deployment of the Order of the Bloody Sabaton, but thus far, conflicts seem to be largely about kill counts and the local practice of 'joyeux-du-cheval', stealing the vehicles of rivals and taking them on 'performance tests.' There are unsubstantiated rumors of Perytons ripping out the hearts of enemies and civilians alike, and messily devouring them. Said rumors then culminate in lascivious descriptions of frenzied orgies, so it has hitherto been the position of the Ministorum that such rumours are baseless slander.

[ask-mortarion-the-death-lord]

I FEEL LIKE THIS MORE THEN ANYTHING HIGHLIGHTS THE ONE STEP FORWARD TWO STEPS BACK MANNER IN WHICH GW HAVE BEEN HANDELING 40K RECENTLY

theres no better image really to showcase how things have changed from the 'bold new steps forward' 8th edition was promising to give. from new models and a practically entire new line and mode of thought when it came to designing space marine models with the introduction of the primaris line, and a major shakeup of the galactic status quo

to a deliberate evocation of the classic terminator tyranids bare knuckle cage fight to hype up future announcements. sure theres the fact that its warhammer fantasy's 40th this year, and that nostalgia baiting in general is the go to strategy these days for most of anything.

hell i'll even go as far as saying its not unsurprising gw went back to the well when the whole primaris line and concept has been so mediocre to begin with.

I suppose its just that, the problem in my eyes was never the concept in of itself. moving the story along, shaking things up, and the potential drama primaris marines bring to the table is fascinating all on its own. But then the execution came, and we get some real goofy ass looking primaris models, gravis armour coming across as a lame duck replacement for the iconic terminator marines, promises that old marines would exist in perpetual harmony with nu marines and not be replaced when the better strategy probably would have been to rip off the bandaid all at once so people could proxy old minis as the new ones and not bloat how many space marines exist at the same time.

all manner of smaller things that poisoned the potentiality 8th promised, and led things to this holding pattern. and what i personally fear is gonna be a reluctance to really play with anything in a new and interesting way at all in 40k, especially given any truly new primaris stuff still tends to do a hearty faceplant whenever it gets announced.

idk, im probably just being a worrywart...

[sortyourlifeoutmate]

In a moment of madness I struck out and purchased the latest Space Marine codex, mostly with the excuse that for my BL submissions I needed a better understanding of how marines work in the Era Indomitus (spoilers: I have not gained deeper understanding).

The book is pleasingly hefty and, with my antiquated grasp of the rules, entirely incomprehensible, obviously, but one thing which has hit me is, again, my simmering dislike of many of the new models. Specifically the vehicles.

I don't actually mind the Primaris marines themselves. Ignoring the higher level of fidelity that modern casting brings, which - I feel, me personally - somehow gives the models less personality while also giving them more detail, the new marines are neat looking. Gravis armour is particularly neat. That's all gravy.

But the vehicles look awful.

(To me.)

And I think is down to two main things:

A) The guns are all too big while also being too small.

And

B) There are too many guns in too many places.

By this I mean the guns on the new vehicles are too small for the enjoyably over-the-top size the older models had, but too large to be realistic, sitting instead somewhere uncomfortably between the two.

Which is made worse by there being too many. Everywhere. Every crevice and cranny has some tiny, ball-mounted heavy stubber (for it is somehow always a heavy stubber nowadays) crammed into it, or else some tiny little heavy weapon incongruously just poking out, looking like it has no traverse at all, looking useless.

(There's one flyer (and all the space marine flyers barring the Thunderhawk are ugly as shit, I don't think that's controversial) that I recall had a multi-melta stuck on the front. A multi-melta! On a flyer!)

So the new tanks just all look kind of lame, with guns that aren't very fun looking, and which are seemingly just stuck on at random, unusually in ways that make them appear entirely useless.

Or so think I at least, plainly the ultimate and definitive arbiter of these things.

[nightscalestudio]

Tyberos The Red Wake in Gravis Armour.

[mylittlemenandme]

THE FURRED SUCCESS

Hobby progress has been slow this month while I waited on the arrival of a delivery of sprays and a new wash brush - my last one has become permanently splayed off the back of finishing my Sylvaneth, so I’m trying out one of the new synthetic ones.

Of the 4-500 points I was planning to get to “looks okay from the other side of the table” standard - an Eradicator squad, 5 more Reivers and Infiltrators, and my Gravis Captain - I’ve nearly got the Infiltrators to that stage, and made a bit of a start on the Reivers.

And the Cyberwolf, which was nowhere near that list, but is a welcome addition nonetheless.

While hobby progress may have been thin on the ground, GW still saw fit to bless me with something I didn’t know I wanted, but am absolutely made up to see - Index Astartes: The Wolfspear

Space Wolves successor chapters are thin on the ground in the lore - they typically fall to their bestial side and are mysteriously never heard of again.

The Wolfspear are different - a purely Primaris force born from Belisarius Cawl’s secret stash of space marines, described as brooding and brutal as opposed to their bullish and bellicose brothers.

I was immediately drawn to them. The plan for my all-Primaris Space Wolves was that they were from Erik Morkai’s Great Company - lots of Phobos armoured marines, an emphasis on being the hunters and scouts of the chapter. I even had the idea to paint the models that have the Concealed Positions abilty in white/light grey armour to differentiate them. If I’d held off a year or two, I think I would have fully commited to making this army Wolfspear instead, so close was their lore to my idea of what I wanted from the army.

Indeed, I positively yelped with joy reading this particular paragraph:

“Erik Morkai was particularly struck by the focus and killer instinct the Wolfspear displayed during their early deployments. The Chapter showed a preference for swift terror tactics and brutal executions such as Morkai favoured himself, and in a rare gesture of respect the taciturn Wolf Lord seconded some of his most experienced wolf scouts to the Wolfspear to impart their deadly hunting methods.”

So I have already planned my Wolfspear Kill Team. Actually, who am I kidding, I’ve planned out an entire army, but I’ll proxy a few games in the mean time. I’ve already arranged to generously relieve members of my hobby community of their unwanted Wolfspear transfer sheets.

After all, what’s a third Space Wolves-flavoured army anyway?

[loyalist-14th-legion]

Let's go over lists!

To start, here's the list for the army.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium - Adeptus Astartes - Imperial Fists) [101 PL, 12CP, 1,990pts] ++

+ Configuration +

**Chapter Selection**: Imperial Fists Successor, Indomitable, Warded

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

+ HQ +

Captain in Gravis Armour [8 PL, 155pts]: Chapter Command: Chapter Master, Stubborn Heroism, The Armour Indomitus, Warlord

Primaris Chaplain [5 PL, 85pts]: 3. Exhortation of Rage, Litany of Hate

Primaris Librarian [5 PL, 95pts]: 4) Fortify, 5) Aspect of Stone

+ Troops +

Heavy Intercessor Squad [7 PL, 140pts]: Heavy bolt rifle

. 4x Heavy Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Heavy Intercessor Sergeant

Heavy Intercessor Squad [7 PL, 140pts]: Heavy bolt rifle

. 4x Heavy Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Heavy Intercessor Sergeant

Heavy Intercessor Squad [7 PL, 140pts]: Heavy bolt rifle

. 4x Heavy Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Heavy Intercessor Sergeant

Intercessor Squad [5 PL, 110pts]: Astartes Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle

. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Intercessor Sergeant: Power sword

+ Elites +

Bladeguard Veteran Squad [5 PL, 105pts]

. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield

. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Heavy Bolt Pistol

Bladeguard Veteran Squad [5 PL, 105pts]

. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield

. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Heavy Bolt Pistol

Invictor Tactical Warsuit [8 PL, 160pts]: Incendium cannon

Primaris Apothecary [5 PL, 95pts]: Chapter Command: Chief Apothecary

Redemptor Dreadnought [9 PL, 185pts]: 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Icarus Rocket Pod, Onslaught Gatling Cannon

+ Heavy Support +

Eradicator Squad [7 PL, 135pts]: Melta rifle

. 2x Eradicator: 2x Bolt pistol

. Eradicator Sgt

Eradicator Squad [7 PL, 135pts]: Melta rifle

. 2x Eradicator: 2x Bolt pistol

. Eradicator Sgt

Gladiator Lancer [11 PL, 205pts]: 2x Storm Bolters, Icarus Rocket Pod

++ Total: [101 PL, 12CP, 1,990pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

So there’s a lot going on, I get that, let’s go over it (quickly) line by line. Starting with the chapter tactics and parent chapter.

I didn’t pick Imperial Fists for any particular reason I just like a few of their warlord traits and relics that I ultimately didn’t end up using much of anyway. The major attribute we wanted was the chapter trait “Warded”. It gives our whole army 5+++ (Whenever a model would lose a wound roll a d6 and on a 5+ that would is instead not lost)! It’s the Death Guard they have to have their feel no pains. Indomitable is just because I’m lazy and don’t want to take morale tests.

The captain was definitely the most difficult to build considering I want him to be the legendary Nathaniel Garro. I went with a Gravis Captain to parallel a lot of Death Guard HQs being Cataphractii armor. Otherwise I just made him as impossibly difficult to kill as I could. 2+/4++/5+++ makes for a nightmare of a Chapter Master. On top of his Warlord trait that halves all damage rounded up, his relic letting him have a 3++, toughness 5 and 8 wounds means he should be sticking around for ever. Not super flavor filled with some of Garro’s actual feeds but I wanted to stay within the rules.

Side note: I really love the implementation of the custom chapter master rules and implementations in 9th edition.

The chaplain is kind of whatever. They’re not bad, I have one from the Indomitus box set, and it was the perfect amount of points. The librarian however was to be the parallel for the all too infamous Malignant Plaguecaster in Death Guard proper. I read at some point that Imperial Fists had a psychic ability that gives a minus one to hit on a unit but when looking back over it I can’t seem to find it. That being said being able to heal a unit from 12” away is still really good and keeps the theme of staying power.

The troops were at first a little difficult but with the introduction of Heavy Intercessors, we have the perfect candidate. Toughness 5, 5” movement and a 5+++ sound familiar to anyone? I grabbed the Killteam box set that had a squad of these guys just to get my hands on them. The squad of standard intercessors is more for points than theme or utility but the sergent has a power sword which I thought was good flavor seeing as its Garro’s Death Guard.

The elites were another cramped and difficult section to go through. Two squads of Bladeguards shores up any glaring weakness I would have in melee and a perfect representation of loyalist Deathshrouds. The Warsuit was another one of those models that I picked because I had one lying around and was super excited to paint it. The Apothecary was a no brainer in so many ways. Being the parallel to the Plague Surgeon and just one of the best models in Space Marines right now made it the fastest inclusion of the whole list. Finally the dreadnought, it was included sort of as an homage to the fact that Death Guard proper can’t take any kind of dreadnoughts aside from the Contemptor variety otherwise just another model I thought would be fun to paint.

Eradicators are an auto include. If I had to give them a parallel maybe Myphitic Blighthaulers but in reality, I had one squad from Indomitus and they’re just too good not to use. Last but not least is the Gladiator Lancer, a model I’m still not wildly sold on. I scoured the entire Space Marine line up for a Plagueburst Crawer type tank and the model that works the most similar, the Whirlwind, looks nothing like the Crawlers and I wanted a more aesthetic comparison that a mechanical one thus leading me to the tank with the biggest barrel. At a whopping 200 points base for a smaller cannon than a Repulsor Executioner its a tough sell when compared to other Gladiator variants. Still though, a tank with a big barrel is the look we’re going for.

Noticeably absent from this list are any form of fast attack or flyers. Death Guard proper lack those things (barring the Foetid Bloat Drones) and I thought it flavorful to keep the army slow and grounded. I doubt I’ll ever add any kind of model that is fast and/or flys but if something comes out that is just a one to one of the Bloat Drones I could be convinced.

I recognize that lists are not as flashy or fun to look at when compared to kitbashing or painting but having direction is important for my completion and ultimately I want to chronicle the whole process.

If you have any ideas, input or feedback on my list please feel free to say something! Otherwise I’ll talk to you next time.

[segersgia]

Looking back: Part 1 - Primaris Space Marines - Infantry

The excitement for 9th edition has been growing and growing. People are happy with the upcoming units for Space marines, and Xenos fans are rejoicing at the return of the Silent King and the introduction of new Necron units. 

What I want to do is take a long and hard look at what 8th edition gave us in terms of miniatures. 

To start of this series, we have to begin with Games Workshop’s favorite poster-boys; The Primaris Space Marines

The Primaris debacle:

If you didn’t already know, Games Workshop is somewhat obsessed with Space Marines. This hasn’t changed at all in 8th edition. In fact, it kind of got worse.

8th edition introduced us to the new and improved Primaris Space Marines - Extra cool Space Marines. 

For a lot of people, these were just a lame excuse to resell you an army that most of their costumers had already bought. Lore-wise, they came out of nowhere, and for some they were an affront to what the Imperium stood for: an autocratic, dogmatic and fascist regime that saw innovation and progress as something evil and dangerous. 

Fortunately, the Primaris have begun to become a little more fleshed out, and hopefully, this will continue for the better in 9th edition.

Before I start my overview, I have to explain my main gripe that I have with the ENTIRE range.

The Helmets:

With their redesign, the Space Marines gained a new pattern of Power Armour. This included a new design for their helmets, and I absolutely hate it. Gone is the iconic respirator, and instead we get a return of the Mark IV helmet, A.K.A. my least favorite pattern of the range. 

Kitbashers prove my point. The Mark VII is so much better looking on the new range. They look proper evil and merciless.

So always keep in mind that with every model in this range, I will have the same complaint; I don’t like the design of their helmet.

Intercessors:

The Primaris line was a way for the design team to re-imagine the space marines in a new way. Their size got updated to what might be considered “Tru-scale” and lore-wise, they gained a better crafted kit than their predecessors. Though what they gained in upgrades, they lost in group flexibility. 

Intercessors are equipped with Bolt rifles, which are basically slightly upgraded Boltguns. These can be retrofitted in the usual way with scopes or under-slung grenade launchers. 

Lore-wise, Intercessors take a surprisingly defensive role, mostly described as using suppressive fire to slowly advance to a position or hold the line.  

Their design, specifically their proportions, is what many expected the actual proportions of a space marine to be. They are hulking masses of power armour that should dwarf humans easily. The original Space Marines were a little “ill-proportioned” and the new Primaris have fixed that issue very well. 

One complaint I’ve seen appear is the fact that Intercessors lack the ornateness and religious aspects that the old marines had. If you’d actually compare them with Tactical Marines, it kind of shows that this isn’t the case. 

In fact, it just shows that normal Space Marines aren’t that ornate to begin with. 

Intercessors are a good re-imagining of the Tactical Marines and share the same feel that their predecessors have. What the Intercessors lack is just their weapon options.

7/10

Hellblasters:

The Primaris doctrine seems to hark back to the olden days before the Horus Heresy. Instead of the highly adaptable formations that we see in the Tactical Squads or the Devastator Squads, the Primaris decide instead to have specialized squads.

So while the Intercessors favor trusty bolt weapons, the Hellblasters make use of the the Plasma Incinerator: an improved version of the Plasma Gun that doesn’t overheat unless its fired in its overcharged setting. Hellblasters have the role of providing covering fire, similar to Devastators.  

The Plasma Incinerator is what makes this my favorite unit from the mainline army. It is such an improvement in design over that of the Plasma Gun. It makes for a great silhouette and the miniature looks more powerful because of it.

9/10

Reivers:

Reivers are part of the Vanguard line of Primaris troops; units specifically designed for long covert and stealth operations. 

(The rest of the Vanguard will be looked at in a future post.) 

Reivers themselves act like terror troops; sneaking into combat before yelling “OOGA BOOGA” and murdering everyone in the room like an Eversor Assassin. 

Primaris power armour has a very interesting quirk. It comes in different variants that can be mixed and matched to serve a certain role. Reivers and most of the vanguard line use Phobos Armour; a pattern that is lighter, more lightly armoured and features servos that allow it to be almost silent in combat. It features Grav-Chutes, which allows Reivers to safely descend from heights, similar as to what Elysian Drop-Troopers utilize.

They go into battle with Bolters and over-sized knives. They can also take a Grapling Hook, so they can cosplay as their favourite DC hero. The skull helmet they wear has an in built voice amplifier, allowing their battle chants to turn into a police sound cannon. They basically stole the idea from Eldar Howling Banshees. 

The poses from the “Easy-to-build” kit are just ugly, but their other kit fixes that issue. I still am not sure about the skull helmet, and would’ve preferred a better way to visualize their voice-amplifiers. I kind of like the Phobos pattern, but I do have some gripes with it, such as the exposed metal abs(?) they have. 

6/10

Aggressors:

I really don’t hope this is what will replace Terminators.

Aggressors are a fire support unit that slowly advances while providing covering fire from mid to close range. They wear Gravis Armour, which is the more heavily reinforced variant of the Mark X. They have Power Fists that have either Flamers or Bolters attached to them, and some are equipped with shoulder mounted grenade launchers.

Gravis Armour is my least favourite of the three patterns and Aggressors are my main reason for it. They look very clunky and are way too cluttered with weapons. I don’t like the rounded design as well. It looks like they would take one step and then fall face first into the dirt. Even the artwork doesn’t do them justice and makes their over-sized armaments even more over-sized. A wider belly and smaller gauntlets would’ve fixed this unit’s design.

4/10

Inceptors:

Remember the intro of the Space Marine video game? Captain Titus leaping off a Thunderhawk and flying through an air battle to land on an Ork ship? Inceptors do just that, landing in the thick of the battle, with guns in both hands like B.J. Blazkowicz.

They are equipped with either Plasma Guns or Assault Bolters, and fly through the air with an over-sized jump-pack. To soften their landing, they have these funny looking boot plates, so that they don’t die during the impact.

If the boot plates weren’t a thing, I would have no qualms with this unit. Their version of the Gravis Armour is what I would’ve preferred the Aggressors to have. They also look like they would actually do well in low gravity environments, such as space battles. What I like most about them is the fact that they seemingly resemble Assault Marines from the artwork of Rogue Trader.

Games Workshop has kind of gone back to looking at Rogue Trader, and figuring out how certain aspects of it could fit back into 40k. I’m 100% behind that trend and want more of it.

7/10

-----------------------

The Primaris range is already massive and I’m separating the range into different parts. So far though, it has been a varied bag of good and meh. I do want to keep these varied, so next up, I’m going to tackle a different army; the Death Guard...

[copperforge]

I guess the 4th will get new toys

Captain Uriel Ventris:

Now in complete Blade Guard Gear, combined with the sword he forged himself after the destruction of former Captain Idaeus’ blade.

Chaplain Judd Clausel:

He haven’t changed after crossing the rubicon. Still cares little for talk, and has reprimanded members of the Ecclesiarchy for discussing theology during meetings, and threatened Planetary Governors when they are slow to act.

Ancient Peleus:

He was the Standard Bearer of the 4th Company of the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter during the last years of the 41st Millennium. He had held this position for 30 Terran years and continues to do so.

Veteran Sergeant Pasanius Lysane:

Before his induction into the Space Marines, Pasanius was already a towering youth, and as an Ultramarine, his physique was so massive that his Power Armour had to incorporate salvaged pieces of Tactical Dreadnought Armour to fit his frame. His primary weapon was a Heavy Flamer. So it was only logical to give him and the Firebrands access to Gravis Pattern and Melta weaponry.

Company Champion Petronius Nero:

As an exceptional close combat specialist, Nero first distinguished himself during the Second Battle of Pavonis as part of a raiding party infiltrating the T'au headquarters camp. Nero survived the collapse of the cavern engineered by the Warsmith Honsou, though he was grieved when his custom-made Power Sword was broken by the rockfall. As part of Ventris' Command Squad, Nero joined the defence of Calth from the invasion of the Bloodborn in 999.M41. He now serves as Blade Guard on Ventris’ side.

[knightlightminiatures]

It’s me again. And I’ve got some fun news. I’ve resurrected my original Custom Chapter scheme with the release of Leviathan. I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with them at first. I usually make all my models space wolves or divy them into my “for sale” pile to help fund my studio but I want getting any strong vibes from the space marine half of the box.

However, the tyranid half has been going into expanding my fathers tyranid army. Hive fleet Rhamnusia. And I thought, with his original concept getting love, why shouldn’t I do so?

I had abandon my army in 2018 for a full space wolf legion. And two years before that I had changed the armour design. Still, all wolfified. But, I never felt the primaris marines really fit the space wolf vibe. So most of them waited patiently for me to decide how I’d go about adding them into my space wolf army. And a few did. But many received no such love.

So with Pops nids getting love, I revived my original army. The Angry Dragons. And returned to their original scheme, eating up all the ignored primaris marines and building a fully fledged primaris army. Pulling most of the units from leviathan, Shadowspear, indomitus, Dark Imperium and wrath of the soulforge. My dragons have returns stronger than ever before.

With this new development, my dragons will sport no firstborn. My wolves will take them all for themselves. And I’ll just run both chapters uniquely. It’s nice because I don’t have to really customize the bits to fit the chapter as much. I can take the models at face value and add my colors.

And should the inevitable phasing out of firstborn ever happen, I still have a full functioning army and a super sexy firstborn Space Wolf army to reminisce about.

[titanomancy]

The inevitable has come to pass, Space Marine Heroes have been Primarisized. Or, more accurately, discontinued entirely in favor of the new range of Warhammer Heroes.

But at least they look cool!

[steel-brush]

Hi guys! This is my first conversion and I was very happy to try a lot of new hobby things. I made it from these parts: captain primaris gravis armour, ultramarine captain, space marine corpse, some parts from terrain and many other things like a metal chain, skulls etc.

[xenosgirlvents]

2 Questions

Whenever I think about substantial changes to the 40k setting, or things I would change or tweak just a little bit to make things less myopic, there are two questions I struggle with. One is an old question, the other new, but with both I don’t feel 100% confident about my answers ever, which makes it difficult for me to sometimes do reimaginings;

1) This one is the simple, and pervasive, question of how secret should Daemons be? Should it be a matter that Daemons are forbidden knowledge? That any who see the Grey Knights get killed? Yet how does one balance this with groups like the Cadians who regularly fight Daemons, or places like Armageddon now, where a massive concentration of regular Imperial forces battles with Daemons daily? Or should, rather, the Daemons be made more mundane, and just be recognized as another enemy the people are aware of? 

2) Primaris Marines. Upfront I’ll say that I do find the idea of ‘Marine-Marines’ silly and unnecessary. I can completely support the idea of Roboute’s return heralding an upgrade in equipment due to a push back against the decay of the Imperium, but don’t really feel it was necessary to introduce an entire new class of Marines for it. I don’t dislike them as much as I’ve seen other, usually Space Marine players, people do, but this is probably because I am less invested in Space Marines. Still, I’m not sure if I were to do it what I should do. Would simply having Tactical Marines also get access to Bolt Rifles, or Captains Gravis Armour, be good enough? Or do people really like the idea of the new armies of ‘Marine-Marines’ so much that they’d want to keep that development?

[warpswimming]

Duck and Cover - Suppressors of the Vanguard

Hello again. After a lengthy and disruptive Christmas and New Year period, its time to pickup where I left off. Lets finish off the roundup of the Vanguard with the Suppressors. First released as a Easy to Build kit in Shadowspear, Suppressors are still only available in the single pose kit, and only from the Vanguard Start Collecting box, which for those who may be looking at the Vanguard for their Space Marine armies, is a good way to go.

Suppressors are, or rather were, the firebase option of the Vanguard in the brief window before the Invictor, though they do still retain some utility. Suppressors are unique in the Vanguard because of their type of Mk X armour, which boasts a mix of Phobos and Gravis.

So what do they have?

Suppressors make use of the standard Primaris statline, albeit with a 12 inch movement and fly meaning they can get about much easier. They retain Angels of Death rule but they also have the Death from Above rule thanks to their Grav Chutes meaning they can be held in reserve and dropped where you need them later. The Accelerator Autocannons they all have, changed going into 9th. Whereas they used to be 2 shots and 3 damage, they are now 3 shots and 2 damage. When they use Str 7 and ap-1 think of them of a standard Autocannon with an extra shot, doesn’t sound brilliant I'll admit, especially when you consider that you only get units of 3 for 5 power. However its the ability..... Suppressing Fire.. If you play an assault army, you might want to slot a unit in just for this ability. Each time you hit with your Autocannons against an INFANTRY unit, that unit cannot fire Overwatch this turn.. pretty nice in the right situations and devastating against an army that relies on Overwatch such as Tau. Top this off with the SMOKESCREEN keyword to add a little protection thanks to the stratagem.

So what use are they?

Suppressors struggled to find a purpose since release, with a lot of people hoping that they would get a different weapon option, or maybe even an extra wound to represent the mix of Gravis. Their firepower is good, but it mashes poorly with their move trickery. A 12 inch move and Deep Strike ability might seem good on paper, but when you've got heavy (ish) weapons with a 48 inch range, is it needed? The subtle change from 8th to 9th though has given them utility they desperately needed. Whereas previously you had fewer shots, and had to kill an enemy model to prevent Overwatch, you now have more and only need HIT. Three marines, split firing at 3 different INFANTRY targets, screens you from a lot of potential Overwatch.

Defensible Terrain gives your opponent the option of Overwatch on 5s, or +1 to hit in combat. If you've got an INFANTRY gunline in ruins, such as Tau, with their supporting fire and higher than average strength weapons, denying Overwatch when you're fielding a combat focused army could be key. Outside of helping prevent Overwatch, their autocannons are not bad. I feel they are best used in a vantage point giving covering fire rather than zipping about, especially as they would take a -1 to hit penalty doing so. Stick them in cover for the save bonus, use SMOKESCREEN if you want the extra protection and just cover the table in fire.

So what Chapters make use of them?

Like I said, Suppressors are great to support a combat focused force. With that in mind, whilst they may not benefit themselves from the Chapter Tactics, Blood Angels, White Scars, Black Templars and the like, do well having a unit to prevent Overwatch.

 Even static armies can make use of them thanks to these being heavier weapons in the Fast Attack slot.

Ignoring cover save bonuses, getting +1 to hit if stationary, and the Crimson Fist outnumbered bonuses are all useful.

So would you take them?

Unfortunately no, they still seem to lack a certain something to make them a contender with other options in a large codex. Maybe in a full combat build, but that’s not my preferred playstyle.

Back soon with more