Index: Imperium 1 Impressions
Having played Space Marines since 5th Edition, I’ve seen the army go through a number of changes over the years, for better or worse. This edition seems to be a promising change from what gamers have been used to over the years and I would like to share some thoughts on how the edition changes has affected the army I love. I will only be covering the entries from the previous Codex: Space Marines for this article.
Initial impressions
My initial impression of this edition was most definitely how it was different from 7th for my army. Firstly, Chapter Tactics is gone (the horror), this was a rule which defined the 6th and 7th Edition Marine codexes and gave at least 2 special rules to units depending on Chapter. It allowed armies to be flavourful and allowed players to make lists that were in tune with how their Chapters worked. In 8th, these are gone and while special characters like Pedro Kantor and Lysander remain, no longer do Marine armies have unique army-wide Chapter rules. Another change is the loss of formations, which will affect a fair amount of Marine players given how the Battle Company was a favourite amongst Space Marine players. Now all those tanks that we bought have to be paid for and are no longer free, nor are all the other formations and special rules they brought to the army. A major loss to the army, are the changes to Grav weapons. Without going into too much detail, they are a lot less effective and will most likely be not seeing much play.
That said, it is not all doom and gloom for the Space Marines as there are changes that give new options for Marine players. One thing that changed is how vehicles work in this current edition and this is definitely an opportunity for players to use units they never had the chance to due to them not being good. Units like Predators and Dreadnoughts now have the chance to make the tabletop as they are tough to kill and do a decent amount of damage. Characters also became tougher to kill due to the removal of Instant Death weapons and the new rule where they cannot be directly targeted if there are closer units.
While Grav weapons were disappointing after the changes to their profiles, one weapon that was never taken before that might see play is the humble Heavy Bolter. These weapons are now cheap compared to the other available options and do decent damage. How effective they will be in the long run remains to be seen, they do seem like an option worth considering in lists. Captains now also provide a bubble of re-roll 1s to hit when within 6 inches of them, which unfortunately makes the special characters like Sicarius and Lysander feel less unique as they all have this special rule. The only thing making these characters feel different are one or two special rules that each character has like Sicarius granting Ultramarine (a lot of rules are keyword based) Tactical Squads the ability to hit first in combat even if charged. This also means that Marine armies will probably be blobbing up near their leaders to get buffs. On the note of characters, Roboute Guilliman is a badass, look out for him on a tabletop near you!
Primaris
The introduction of the new Primaris Marines do bring a welcome new addition to the Marine collection. These new superhuman soldiers have arrived as reinforcements for the depleted Marine chapters of the Imperium and serve as a beacon of hope. Armed with new weapons like Bolt Rifles and Plasma Incinerators, these warriors offer a new option to Marine players to bring to the tabletop. Tougher than the average Marine (2 Wounds!!) and bringing new/more powerful weapons (Bolt Rifles are AP -1 vs AP 0 for regular bolt guns) they can dish out quite the hurt. Other new toys the Primaris Marines bring include the Gravis Armour on their Captains and Inceptor squads with their oh-so-powerful Assault Bolters. Primaris Lieutenants are also a good HQ option for Marine armies with a cheap cost and instead of the re-roll 1s to hit of Captains, these bad boys offer a re-roll of 1 to wound. Players can probably field a combination of Captains and Lieutenants to get both buffs within a 6 inch bubble of value. I hope these guys will see play given how awesome they are and with more releases upcoming like the Repulsor Tank and Redemptor Dreadnaught.
(“Enhanced” gene-seed, more like jacked up with steroids)
So, after saying all that, I have some opinions on what units are better by this edition and some that are worse. It is still premature to say for sure whether these are right but here are my 3 winners and losers for this edition as of now.
Winners
Razorbacks and Predators (I’m cheating and lumping these together). With the new vehicle rules, even though you are unable to get Razorbacks for free anymore, they are much tougher and also serve as cheap Heavy Weapon platforms. Predators also saw a buff with a Predator Autocannon actually being different from a normal Autocannon (Heavy 2D3, S7, AP -1, Dmg 2) and with Heavy Bolters being cheap and good, they might actually see play this edition. Land Raiders deserve an honourable mention here as well with the new vehicle rules.
Twin Heavy Bolter and Twin Lascannon Centurions. These have gotten better with an additional wound and sticking them in cover gives them a nifty 1+ save. Heavy Bolters and Lascannons saw a definite improvement this edition and taking them on a rather durable platform alongside some characters is worth considering. A Centurion with 2 Heavy Bolters and a Hurricane Bolter throws out 18 Dice (!!) per model at 12 inch range so there’s that.
Vanguard Veterans can now bring double Plasma Pistols and a 5 man unit of them with Jump Packs don’t take up too many points in a list either. With Jump Packs allowing the unit to appear outside of 9 inches and Plasma Pistols conveniently being 12 inch range, they can appear wherever the player wants them to and dish out 10 Plasma shots on demand. This unit definitely deserves some play testing and would be nice to see Marine players finally find a use for those Plasma Pistols lying about. Cypher, you are no longer special.
Losers
Thunderfire Cannons. As a person who loves these guns, seeing the new iteration of them makes me sad indeed. No longer do you have the option of 3 different ammunition types, and the new profile does not do a lot of damage either at Heavy 4D3 S5 AP 0 Damage 1. A Whirlwind serves a lot better in an Artillery role for Marine armies and Missile Launchers can provide decent anti-Infantry and anti-Vehicle in a unit. You also have to pay extra for all the bling the accompanying Techmarine comes with so that’s another negative.
Drop Pods. Gone are the days of the cheap Drop Pod with these guys pretty much tripling in points value. These can no longer transport Centurions, Terminators and Dreadnoughts, which was probably intended due to fluff reasons. They still have their use in guaranteeing a unit to drop in at that magical >9 inch mark so some units like Multi Melta Devastators will probably find a use for them. Overall, with a point increase and the inability to transport a variety of units, these will probably see a lot less play than before. An honourable (or dishonourable mention) here is that Ironclads now have to footslog across the table without a Drop Pod and for a CC-focused unit, this is not the best place to be in.
Grav Cannon Centurions. How the mighty have fallen. With Grav in general taking a hit this edition, this once staple unit might not see much play unlike their fellow Centurions. This unit suffers from no longer being able to Drop Pod in and use their shorter ranged (and no longer as powerful) guns and ironically, the Omniscope rule prevents a unit from gaining a cover bonus which can actually hinder their ability to get the D3 damage from a unit having a saving throw of 3+. These guys will sadly be relegated to army bag or display shelf duty.
Despite some of the changes, I am still looking forward to trying out whatever I can this edition. I might give Thunderfire Cannons a try since they can fire without LOS and can receive buffs from characters to boost their output. Pedro Kantor (my man) seems like an effective unit as he gives a flat re-roll to all Hit rolls, melee and shooting within 6” of him which is useful since twin-linked has been changed. High Marshal Helbrecht also provides a nice buff of re-roll to Hit like Pedro and also buff Black Templars Strength by 1 when near him which can encourage Black Templar players to do what they do best, charging things allowing them to experience the Emperor’s Vengeance. Vulkan He’stan also does a nice Drop Pod trick with re-roll to Hit and Wound for Flamer and Melta weapons so that can be something worth trying. Terminators also are worth a try given that they are 2 wounds now and Storm Bolters are Rapid Fire 2 so MOAR DAKKA. I also need to probably get myself a Land Raider given they are tough as nails and put out a good amount of firepower. They are also the only way to transport Centurions and Terminators now. Librarians also are fun given they now cast 2 powers each and you can choose the powers you want. Null Zone is back so you can turn off those pesky Invulnerable Saves with a good Psychic Roll.
(I HAVE YOU NOW!! Wait, wrong franchise)
In conclusion, Marines are a strong army this edition with a huge variety of unit options to choose from,good stats, and weapons all around. Despite that, there are some units that have unfortunately been relegated to only being taken out in niche occasions. I hope this write-up has given Marine players some new perspectives on how the army works in this edition. For new players, given that Space Marines is one of the more popular armies to start with, this write-up hopefully helps them make more informed choices on what to pick up. There is so much more to say for the army and I hope more people can share their own views on what they find good or bad about the army.
Happy Gaming, People!
Jokoh