The following comes from the Warhammer-community page.
A whole new type of Space Marines! That might just be the most exciting thing to happen to the Imperium since Roboute Guilliman woke up from his 10,000 year nap and decided to save the galaxy. But what does their arrival mean? How will it affect your collection or army? What modelling options will you have? Read on to find out.
So, what’s a Primaris Space Marine?
These are a brand-new breed of warrior, commissioned by the Primarch Guilliman and developed in secret on Mars for the past 10,000 years by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl. Find out all about them and check out an awesome video here.
Are all my current Space Marine miniatures redundant now?
No way! Primaris Space Marines do not replace regular (if a superhuman killing machine can be described as ‘regular’) Space Marines. These guys have a few extra genetic enhancements, thanks to Belisarius Cawl, and serve as additional reinforcements in the Adeptus Astartes arsenal, not replacements.
Will there be multiple types of Primaris Space Marines?
You bet. So far you’ve seen the Intercessors, the line infantry clad in Mk X armour, but there are plenty more on the way. And likely vehicles too…
Wait, Mk X armour?
Yup, these guys have new armour: combining the best bits of classic Horus Heresy-era plate, with some fancy tech developed more recently.
Can I field a whole army of Primaris Marines?
You totally can. From a background point of view, some Chapters, especially those decimated in the events of the Gathering Storm, now have entire companies of these new warriors. Others have incorporated squads of Primaris Space Marines into existing Battle Companies. And perhaps most excitingly, Guilliman has founded some entirely new Chapters out of these new Space Marines.
I have an <insert favourite Chapter> army. Can I field Primaris Space Marines?
Any of the galaxy’s many hundreds of Codex Chapters can use Primaris Space Marines, along with many of the less Codex-compliant ones like Dark Angels, Blood Angels and Space Wolves.
So, Primaris are just better in the game, right? What’s the point of using older Space Marines?
Marine to Marine, they certainly have some advantages over a Tactical Squad, but it comes at a cost. These guys will cost more points than standard Space Marines, so you’ll have fewer of them, and their weapon options will be different. For maximum tactical punch, you’ll want to bring all your Space Marines to the tabletop.
What if I don’t want to use them?
Well, aside from missing out on some cool new models and tactical options for your army, then that’s totally cool. You certainly don’t have to include Primaris Space Marines in your Space Marines army. Though when you see the Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought, you’ll want to. Primaris Dreadnought? Did I write that…? Nah. Moving on.
Are the kits compatible with existing Space Marine kits?
Good Question. There are certainly elements of the existing Space Marines kits that will be cross-compatible, while the new armour mark means that some parts won’t mix as easily. Shoulder pads and helmets are the same scale, and will still work, whereas the legs, torso and arms are different, and not quite as interchangeable. In terms of the Primaris sets themselves, you’ll have loads of fun kit-bashing them.
Can I use these guys alongside my Astra Militarum army?
Yeah you can. These new Space Marines will be available to use alongside all Imperial armies to fill some battlefield roles your army might normally struggle with.
Do the Primaris Space Marines play nice with the Adeptus Custodes?
They sure do. Many of the Emperor’s elite golden guard are accompanying Gulliman and the Primaris Space Marines on the Indomitus Crusade.
But I play Chaos! Where are my super-super-human reinforcements?
First off, that’ll teach you for turning your back on the Emperor. Secondly, did you not see the Death Guard teaser video? The Chaos Gods have not been idle – we guarantee there are some warp-charged hulking warriors on their way for you guys in the not too distant future.
Guilliman be blessed, these guys are rad! When can I get them?
Primaris Space Marines will be available alongside the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. Oh and while we’re on the subject, we’ll be announcing the release date before the end of this month…
(Use epic movie trailer voice)
For the past 10,000 years, the galaxy has been defended by the awesome might of the Adeptus Astartes – warriors whose origins date back to the gene-forging of the Space Marine Legions on ancient Terra, before even the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy that followed it.
Over the millennia, some have tried to emulate the process of creating Space Marines, both for good and evil, but none have managed to equal the genius of the Emperor’s finished creation.
Until today.
For ten millennia, Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl has been working on a task set for him by the Primarch Roboute Guilliman: a new legion of warriors. Now, though the Imperium is poised on the brink of annihilation, his task is complete…
The Primaris Space Marine is a new breed of hero for this, the darkest age in the Imperium’s history. These new warriors are the next step in the evolution of the Emperor’s Angels of Death – genetically altered from their brethren to be bigger, stronger and faster – timely reinforcements to the Imperium’s armies as their enemies close in for the kill.
To aid them in battle, these new gene-forged warriors are equipped with new arms and armour forged on holy Mars itself.
The Primaris Space Marine here is an Intercessor wearing Mk X Tacticus armour, a suit that combines the most effective elements of ancestral Horus Heresy patterns of plate with more recent developments in power armour technology. He carries into battle a bolt rifle: the archetypal firearm of Space Marines, re-engineered, re-crafted and perfected*.
At the dawn of the Indomitus Crusade, these phenomenal new warriors join Guilliman as he fights to liberate the scattered bastions of the Imperium. Some, Guilliman has forged into new Space Marine Chapters, whole brotherhoods comprised only of these new warriors. Others he has offered to the existing Space Marine Chapters. Many Chapter Masters have welcomed their Primaris brethren into their ranks, accepting the new reinforcements gladly. Others, though, view these new creations with suspicion or outright hostility, claiming that the Emperor’s work should not have been meddled with.
Though they are a step removed from their brothers, the Primaris Space Marines still bear the gene-seed of their Primarchs, and some dissenting voices worry how this new type of warrior will react with the known genetic quirks and flaws of some of the more unusual Chapters…
*Range 30, Strength 4, AP -1 and Rapid Fire.
Exciting times! The Primaris Space Marines sound like they are going to kick serious face in the far future. Classic Guilliman, playing the long game with this ace up his power-armoured sleeve the whole time he was in stasis. The newly triumphant forces of Chaos had better watch out.
So what does this mean for you gamers and collectors out there and your Space Marine armies? Well, we’ve made this FAQ that explains exactly how this new breed of warriors fit into your collections. For those of you curious as to exactly how these new Space Marines work in the game, we’ll have more details on that later today, so stay posted.
Wow, big news! What do you all think?
Quick GW, half your Xenos armies have outdated sculpts and finecast models (plus there’s this female army a lot of people are waiting for)… what should you do?!?!?
I know, let’s release bigger, shinier marines with better guns!
Step 3: Profit!
I prefer to believe in an alternate reality where GW spent as much time working on all their armies as they do on the Imperium so everything had full modern ranges and half the players didn’t play one faction. Unfortunately that reality isn’t this one…
Lol! Great reference.
Haha Underwear Gnomes FTW! =P
lol!
This. So much of this. Even though I at least get a good chuckle out of the Marines who’s whole image was based on being the superdooperest of special supermen suddenly being second rate.
I don’t have a SM army and the new sculpts are really nice.. but I don’t really like the lore of “numarines.” I guess it’s just a way to introduce the new model line without invalidating current models..
All joking aside, everyone has always wanted to see true scale marines, and GW had to introduce them somehow, right? It was either stick with stumpy marines for ever, or bite the bullet and come up with a plot device to introduce Marines with stats and looks that more accurately reflect the IP.
Now, again, I do not know any of this, I am just speculating. But that would be my guess.
Bit of a mixed feelings, as I–like many–have hundreds of painted Marines but these guys just looks so much cooler…..
I really want to read some story fluff on how they interact with the veterans of the chapter. Yeah, they’re bigger and stronger, but they are still fresh marines.
Good point! That would be interesting.
I love the little tidbit that some of the chapters really aren’t happy with Guilliman and distrust these fellahs, like how Stormcast don’t look as squeaky clean and ‘super-mega-awesome yoo guyz’ in AoS now that we have more established civilisations 🙂
I don’t think that’s right…
Compared to modern plastic Marines, Rogue Trader Marines are small. Yet, without a plot device, we all play with the new plastic models. Same for the RT rhino/land raider.
If they just said “check out these new marine models that better represent the fluff you love” I would be into it. Is probably have to buy 50-100. The obtuse plot device is actually a turn off.
Moreover, from a business standpoint, if you hate 3rd party producers as much as GW seems to, announcing a new scale for main line Marines would invalidate hundreds of molds. Making ultraultramarines allows all of those companies to continue making alternatives and accessories for the Space Marines many well still play.
Some folks won’t like it, I get it. It is a big change. I am not too upset as I am sure once we all see them on the table it will just feel correct compared to the current marines which are quite small. I enjoy the plot device not for how it introduces them but for how it moves the story of the game forward, which I have been waiting to happen for ever.
Personally I roll my eyes at the people up in arms about new awesome models(and lore to go with them).
This makes so much business sense it hurts. Of course we are getting new Space Marines with the new addition and massive anniversary. Just enjoy it I say. I know I am.
Kind of the same, here. I think they look awesome!
I do sympathize with people who have massive collections of fully painted marines. But updates have to happen sometime, and god damn do these new models look smooth.
Yeah, I am one of those very people but I am cool with this.
I’m more perturbed by the fact that Belisarius Cawl is 10,000 years old than any other new bit of lore so far, and I play Space Wolves and Cadian IG.
Immortality for regular human folk! WAVE OF THE FUTURE!
Not exactly sure Belisarius Cawl would qualify as “regular human folk.”
And to the OPs point, that was already confirmed in the Gathering Storm that Cawl was that old.
Looks like I might be shelling out more money than I thought when 8th releases. Depending on what these guys can do, my no-longer-useless Blood Angels might have some new friends to fill the gaps…
I think you will be pretty stoked as a Blood Angels player =)
I like ’em! Looking forward to them. I’m guessing that they will stop putting out OldMarine kits, and eventually in the future (like 5 years away or something) they will say that all the OldMarines have now been absorbed/upgraded into the Primaris Marines. At such time, you’ll just play your OldMarines like NewMarines.
This is probably what they intend to do. From a business point of view, this make new players buy the new “Primaris” line and current SM owners buy the new models…. The new models look great but the only things I don’t like is it feel like a “rushed fluff” again to introduce them and that a full Primaris army will probably be more powerful point-wise than a regular one.
I want em’
I want em’ now
Will look really nice alongside my mostly MK3/4Horus Heresy Salamanders, nice blend of new and old 😀
I think these are, like the Stormcast in AoS, primarily designed as a great starting army for new players. Small, efficient armies with relatively uncomplicated “jack of all trades” rules that are big with flat areas that are easy to paint and designed to look pretty good with a single colour on them, a wash and a bit of detailing.
Standard marines no longer really fulfill that role as perfectly as they used to given their small size, increased numbers and many different options, as the just released rules article shows these guys’ standard squad don’t have weapon options, just their bolt rifles and pistols.
And all while thempting the many existing Marine players with shiny new models, good move.
Yeah, from a business perspective this makes total sense. It more accurately reflects the IP, the models are awesome, and it gives them new kits to sell. But, at the same time, it does not invalidate the older kits, either.
Yeah, but when are we getting them on Bikes! My White Scars need some re-inforcements.
Depending on how they incorporate them with the Space Wolves fluff and rules, I may just do a weapons swap and run them as counts-as Wulfen.
I don’t have any problem with these figures or the rules/fluff with one possible exception. I just hope we don’t see a bunch of ‘counts as’ with these figures. Like this squad of regular marines is actually this and this squad that looks exactly the same is this, etc..if you are going to run them then buy them.
I say the following as someone who loves what GW have been doing recently and is super-hyped for 8th edition and more AoS too:
The models are cool but lore-wise this is just petty one-upmanship. Space marines? Pfff, these are BETTER-MARINES!
Hey chaos guys, you know how you sold your soul for power? Turns out it was pointless, this Tech-Priest is better than the Emperor and created marines better than you, your millennia of selling your soul to the dark gods to become mighty was pathetic!
It’s just bad storytelling.
You can say what you like about these not being a replacement and both kinds still being around. In people’s minds, the astartes we know are second class, the B-team, not as good. Grey Knights and Custodes were fine, they were limited and specialised. These guys are just straight up better-marines.
Hey look at these Honour Guard, with their fancy eagle helms and axes of Ultramar, truly they are paragons of our chapter’s might! Oh wait we’ve massed-produced these new guys and they’re better, move over.
I think they need a lore point that makes them very limited, make it so someone destroys Cawl’s lab where they’re researched and created. Kind of like the Cursed Founding. An amazing thing, but limited and ultimately doomed to run out. It would be a lot cooler if they were like the Lamenters etc.: Amazing, a miracle, but a limited commodity that can’t just be thrown at whatever.
They could also take the possibility of them succumbing to gene-seed flaws worse and run with that idea. For example, the Baal system is about to be hit by hive fleet Leviathan and also a daemonic incursion. Dante is desperately gathering as many forces as possible in a probably-hopeless effort to protect the system. He’ll welcome the primaris marines with open arms, taking as many as possible in his need for fighters. What happens if these super-marines succumb to the red thirst en masse and become a horde of ravening, bloodthirsty monsters?
What happens when Logan Grimnar sees the need to take the fight to Magnus and takes on these super-marines to bolster his numbers after losing so many to Magnus’s wrath? Hate-wulfen is what happens. Hate-wulfen that go proper werewolf and can’t control themselves, tearing into the loyalist lines.
They’re going to need to put out counter-balancing lore fast, or this is just going to be really bad lore.
Good point. I honestly would have been fine with them just saying “yup, new Marine models. They’re taller, better proportioned, and all Marines now have 2 wounds and a better bolter.”
Then agian, I’m totally fine with them doing it this way too. Gulliman and the Emperor both always made long-term plans, so whose to say this wasn’t always going to be the case? If anything, such new marines might just some chapters towards Chaos as they’re kind of doing “again” what they’ve already done! The Thunder Warriors were the precursors to the Space Marines, and they were pretty much thrown aside by the Emperor once the Space Marines came about. It seems very fitting that eventually the same fate would before the Space Marines.
While you have a point there I think the mistake was made way before this. This whole issue about Marines being defined just by being the best of the best of the best of the best times infinity has always been weak. They could have been superhuman without every bit of their fluff oozing that they are better in EVERYTHING, even crafting swiss watches and finger painting than everyone ever. And if being the best of the best is your nr 1 identifying trait it’s suddenly pretty damn weak if you’re just second best.
I’m pretty sure these guys are meant to capitalize on the same sentiments that made GK, Deathwatch, and Custodes popular. Elite armies are a popular concept, and a new faction of super-duper space marines is usually a fanbase pleaser.
Also, let’s be real, though: selling your soul for power has looked like a pretty raw deal for several editions now.
In 7e, you could sell your soul for power aaaaand still die like a bitch to grav weapons, also librarians get better powers than you, loyalists get better melee builds than you, and you’re really just substantively worse than them at everything, even the things you sold your soul to be good at.
I’m really, really hoping that 8e makes CSM worth using again. These guys leave a bad taste in my mouth, though; lore-wise, at least some CSM are supposed to heresy veterans, and lore-wise, heresy-era marines were stronger and faster. The current rules don’t really reflect that, and now we have numarines that are even better. And CSM are still just bog-standard MEQs with chaos boons that never seem to make a difference for them.
As a long time Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard fan, I can totally now relate to the non-primaris Space Marines: not the top of the Imperium power pyramid anymore but still able to kick heretic and xenos butt! I like the idea of seeing current marines showing Primaris SM how its done! …And just because you have better genetic upgrades doesn’t mean your always better!
I’m not thrilled, because we don’t need more Marines. But, I realize it’s like the flgs selling Pokemon cards. I may like them, but if it helps them make money and support things I do like, it’s fine.
I think I am going to pick some up, but now I feel like I should start Ultramarines so I also have an excuse to pick up Guilleman. Unfortunately, I prefer Dark Angels…MYYY BRAAAIIN!
IMO, you won’t have a bad choice when it comes to Marines. We’ll wait for more teasers to come out with specifics but yeah, you will be stoked no matter which direction you go so pick the army you like the best from a looks and lord perspective would be my advice.
Meanwhile, more than half the dark eldar characters got cut due to no models 😉 and one of the best looking models in the faction (Incubi) are still finecast….
That being said – these better marines models look amazing.
My main fear- the whole game is balanced around Space Marines being powerful yet not over the top. Terminators are the “turn it up to 11” versions of Space Marines. OK, makes sense. Is there room between these two options for a new unit? Or will it become clearly better than one of them?
As a new model, GW has a history of overreaching with rules (See Wraithknight, Riptide, Grav anything, Heldrake…) or just falling flat for unknowable reasons (Maleceptor, new possessed…)
Assuming the leaked statline is accurate, I’m pleasantly surprised. I was more or less expecting something, um, aggressively “balanced”, (S5 T5 BS 2+ immune to battleshock or something similarly dumb), but just being standard marines and w2 and a2 base, and a slightly better bolter but no special weapons… that doesn’t strike me as game-breaking.
More importantly, it doesn’t strike me as strictly superior to regular marines; they’re tougher and a bit punchier but less flexible (and battleshock is going to hurt, unless marines are arbitrarily immune to it). We haven’t seen the other setups but
I just wish they didn’t have so silly knee caps. They look like skaters from the 90’s. 😐
If these guys are in the starter set … oh god … my credit card. Speaking of, if anyone wants some plague marines hit me up in mid june.
I’m a bit interested in the new marines, but I’ve already spent the last 2 months painting up my chaos…maybe I can take them as come the apocalypse allies this edition? Fluff would be fabius bile captured some and injected them (enter chaos demon here) blood for some CSM love?
These look cool, and I get that it makes financial sense for them, but I was hoping 8th would see a truly new faction and some plastic Sisters of Battle.
I’m adding the title of farseer (to warrior god) for this release.
I called it soooo long ago. I always needed truescale marines (my 2 catachans vet units did not skip leg day and made everyone look scrawny).
Me: “they will add as elite as a multikit for a few units. Than will come truescale vehicles. Than a full fledged army… Than some will betray and go to chaos…Than they will replace at last all older marines sculpts”
Problem is i already own 200+ marines… B-BUT THESCULPT IS SO AWESOME!… BUT THE FLUFF IS SO DUMB!!! BUT THE SCULPTS!!… GOD WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO DUMB? (and cost lotsa money)
…
Who am i kidding i will buy them day one and build a truescale company.