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| Seems appropriate on multiple levels |
I mean, we all knew it was coming.
Since the whole "Primaris" thing erupted in 2017 with 8th edition 40K we knew this would happen. Once they created the divide between the existing space marine line and the New And Improved Marines it was only going to end one way. I'm glad they left it all in this long at least. I figured I would give it a day or three before I posted my thoughts on it. The short version is that it's not really a surprise but it still disappoints me a little.
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Losing the infantry is not a happy occasion. I know no one was playing tac squads these days, at least not that you'd ever hear about , but that was a unit I built very early on and I ended up with somewhere around 20 of them altogether. To know they are going away, well, it stings a bit. It's the core marine unit! From the 80's-90's-00's-10's-and into the 20's! I've been building them for close to 40 years! All the different versions ... tears in the rain etc. right? Devastators were not quite as prolific for most of us I would say but I still had around ten of those across the various marine armies. And for both types that's metal, plastic, monopose, starter sets ... all of them. Declaring them Intercessors or Desolators, well, OK. Not sure I needed GW's permission to do that but if it helps the tournament crowd I suppose that's fine.
We even lost Pedro, leader of the Crimson Fists! I'm not too sad about that though because I am confident - and there are rumors - that we will get a new Kantor model. I would bet on it being tied to the 40th anniversary of 40K celebration next year.
The vehicle losses might be worse. Multiple marine armies means those numbers get really stupid, especially when the current kit has been in production for 20+ years. My Crimson Fists have at least 13 Rhino hulls and that's the original version with the pipe stacks on the sides. With the rest I think I'm over 60 as of the last time I counted. Like I said ...
There are some replacement-ish options among the Primaris tanks - the Gladiator makes a reasonable Predator replacement. However the people trying to say the Impulsor is a replacement for the Razorback ... no. Sure, it holds a similar number of troops but can it mount twin lascanons? Twin heavy bolters? Has it ever know the glory of a charge across the table with twin assault cannons? No, it has not. The razorback has been a useful fire support vehicle for its entire life! The Impulsor has the missile launcher option and they did eventually add the multi-melta option too, but it's still not a Razorback. There is also no Primaris substitute for the Vindicator and the Whirlwind. So there's a gap being left for sure.
Oh and the Stormraven ... the only way to airlift a dreadnought! Gone! My Blood Angels have 3 of them! Painted! I have a few more in the others but being able to drop one of the Red Thirsty specialty dreads anywhere on the board along with some infantry while bringing some big guns along on the bird was a blast. It's going to be missed. I have some of the other flyers too and I'll miss them but this is the one that stings the most. Maybe they will let us put dreads in drop pods again one of these days - that would at least help.
For now the Rhino and the Land Raider are not going away with this announcement which tells me - along with the rumor mill for the past year - that they will be getting a refresh. GW has recognized that certain things are iconic so, like they did with the Terminator refresh in Leviathan and 10th edition, I expect them to look very similar but bigger and maybe better to build than the old kits. The mention that Rhinos will be able to carry Primaris marines around ... yeah that's some excellent news. Plus the Primaris line doesn't have a cheap 10-man transport option. The Repulsor is cool - and it might be the closest thing to a true Razorback replacement gun-wise - but it certainly isn't cheap. So I'm glad two of the big name classics are sticking with us.
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| The over-and-under lascanons first appeared with Epic Armageddon in 1997 along with the new land raider look but they never did give us an official version for 40k. |
To wrap up I will say that I doubt this is the last we will see of many of these squads and vehicles. Corporations love to bring back old favorites - see what Taco Bell has been doing recently for one example - and GW does love to tap into its heritage. I'd say there is a fair chance once those two primary kits are redone and released that we get some version of the others back. A Razorback is a pretty obvious adaptation of the Rhino especially. Also, I doubt these are going anywhere for the Chaos Marines. I suspect the current kits will soldier on for the rebels until they get a refresh because there's no Primaris over there. Beyond the new and upcoming there are always older editions of 40k and OPR among other alternative rulesets. It can be fun to dust off one of those and bring some old favorites back to the table regardless of the current state of the game.
