Is any unit ever truly gone?

As with many other players I eagerly applauded the re-release of the Rough Rider models by GW. I was a bit surprised to see them focused on the Attilans (who knows if a more generic kit will also be available). It does get me thinking about several other units and types of units that have been discontinued, and the process GW uses for bringing them back. As such I have compiled some thoughts on how GW has operated in the past and what units might make a return at some point.

Vehicles:
For the most part GW has been very reticent to stop producing vehicle kits. With the exception of Forge World I can only recall a few examples of this most notably the Astra Militarum Salamander and the Vendetta (which had a FW upgrade kit). If anything GW uses vehicles that appeared in Epic or other spin off games as fuel for creating new kits. That being said, I could see a future where both the Salamander and Vendetta re-emerge. Both have niches in the army and are either upgrade kits or variations on an existing model.

Characters:
There are two categories of characters to consider: Named and generic. Both have seen a lot of attrition over the years. Many of the oldest sculpts started as metal and have been discontinued, Cato Sicarius, Yarrick, etc. The logic here is easy to understand. Metal is difficult to build and paint and the resin finecast was massively unpopular. In terms of generic characters these are rarely specific models that re discontinued but rather conversions that players could make based on specific wargear (Think of the Space Marine Captain with a jump pack or the Chaos Lord with a jump pack).

The distinction between the two categories continues as you consider how likely the models are to return or to be re-released. I think a lot of characters models that are removed will return, but in a very altered format. I would be shocked if we don’t see primaris updates of most of the named Space Marine characters (maybe not all the Ultramarine ones). However, I don’t think other factions will be so fortunate. I doubt we will get a re-released Yarrick model but we may get a relative (like with the new Creed commander). It is worth noting that the setting has advanced by quite a few years and so we should expect to see some attrition in terms of characters, especially for the Tau and Humans (to say nothing of the orks).

Generic characters feel like a safer bet for eventual re-release. There was a lot of outcry and hand wringing when GE discontinued the Autarch model a few years ago and restricted players to only one load out. Then, just a bit later, they released an amazing new kit that remains one of the best HQ models in terms of flexibility. Thus, I would encourage anyone who is bemoaning the loss of the Chaos Lord with a Jump Pack, or the many lost Space Marine bike characters, that I think those models will return. The one caveat here is that the Space Marine characters might be “primaris-ed” which could be a bit awkward.

All other Units:
This catch-all group holds many of the remaining missing units from Mutilators to the Voidshield generator and other buildings. I think many of these units will return after some retooling. Part of the reasoning being that many are iconic and are easier to update than to develop something completely new. On the other hand, there are some units that were such flops it’s hard to see them ever being brought back. Mutilators top this list, but even then GW has a sense of humor and this unit getting revamped with an impressive model and amazing rules would not be off-brand for GW.

Conclusion:
Games Workshop’s games will always suffer from having a dazzling array of models and units available to players. As such, we should also expect GW to occasionally try to cull this list in order to force people to buy new minis and to improve the performance of the tabletop game. In a way this is fair. I don’t think we should expect GW to have to sell the same kit for eternity and rotating out older kits can be a way to freshen up the game. That being said, one of the bonuses of physical models is that they are your minis. If you want to have them in a game look at narrative settings or work with other local players to rewrite or adapt their rules. This is already a common occurrence with many of the old Forge World kits (RIP my DE Ravens and CW Firestorm). I think the legends rules are an untapped source of potential and too many players write them off. The game is only as fun as you make it and players should feel empowered to use their minis.

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