Rise of the Primarch: New Ultramarines Rules
BoLS continues Rise of the Primarch coverage all week. Today we talk about Ultras relics, and new detachments headed your way.
It’s here – with the third volume of Gathering Storm unveiled, GW is reshaping the grimdark in ways no one has seen in the past 30 years. This book does more than advance the storyline, but adds new rules, characters and factions to the game, and sets us up for bigger changes as 2017 progresses. More on that in the days ahead.
I’m coming for you Fulgrim!
For decades the player community has been saying that 40K never advances and that of only GW would shake things up a bit it would make everything better. Then the rumors of the big 2017 shakeup arrived and everyone got all “end times anxious” and didn’t want too much change (we’re never happy). In Book 3 GW has done a good job of threading the needle. There are some BIG shakeups in this book, and the Imperium will not be the same again. A lot of cool callbacks to the 30K Horus Heresy era are in there which should delight Black Library readers. There are minor characters showing up all over the place for their 15 minutes of fame and plenty of loose ends left dangling for Nottingham to pull on in the future. The book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, but sets up a “new normal” that is a very different place for the Imperium of Man to find itself in. Perfect in fact as a place to pause and release a new edition of the game. I would expect the loose ends and boatloads of foreshadowing to pick up later in the year, hopefully with lots of new crazy minis.
As you would expect Space Marines are the center of attention in the book and the Ultramarines plus their successor Chapters in particular.
Meet the New Ultramarines
But enough of the teases – we’ll have much more on that this week. We’re not here to show off the entire book, because you really should go pick it up – it’s that good. Today let’s take a look at the Ultramarines and just a taste of what they will be bringing to the tabletop.
With Roboute in charge, the Ultramarines clearly need a new set of Warlord traits. Here’s just a few to get you started.
There is an all new page of relics that the Ultramarinew apparently only break out when the Primarch is around, along with the fine china. Here’s the Standard of Macragge Inviolate as an example. Each of it’s three abilities is potent, but all three in a single relic is nuts. I do like how GW has gotten tighter with the rules and specified most of these abilities only work on Ultramarines, to cut down on the Superfriends shenanigans.
Say hello to the Victrix Strike Force. Here’s the special rules and composition guide to give you a taste of what the third “mega detachment” we’ve seen in the Gathering Storm series. The layering of the Ultramarines Doctrines is going to be brutal for opponents. Now add in Guilliman’s “Primarch of the XIIIth Legion” special rules for another layer of these rules stacked on top. They may be able to pull off a triple-UM doctrine some turns!
The book has so so much more from Custodes, to Sister of Silence and yeas even Draigo makes a cameo… More on that soon.
The Gathering Storm: Rise of the Primarch $50
Cadia, the long-standing symbol of Imperial defiance against the relentlessly encroaching tides of Chaos, has fallen to the fury of Abaddon’s Thirteenth Black Crusade. Craftworld Biel-Tan has been shattered, along with the dreams of their restoration to prominence. Chaos is ascending – all across the galaxy, raging Warp storms cause havoc as reality itself twists in agony.
Hope, however, remains. An alliance of Ynnari and Celestinian forces has found common ground in their desire to ward off Chaos. These heroes of the Imperium and warriors of the Aeldari race through the webway to Macragge, there to attempt the unthinkable – awaken Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, and seek his leadership in this desperate battle for nothing less than survival. The Storm Gathers…
The Book
Rise of the Primarch is the third book in the Gathering Storm series. This 136-page hardback introduces the Triumvirate of the Primarch – a trio of heroes including Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines – and draws the threads of the thrilling story of the Gathering Storm together in dramatic fashion. Heroes new and old rise in defense of the Imperium, and the universe of Warhammer 40,000 will be changed forever.
Subscribe to our newsletter!Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.The Rules
As is appropriate for such an apocalyptic tome, Rise of the Primarch is packed full of rules content for Warhammer 40,000:
– Datasheets for the Triumvirate of the Primarch – field Cypher, Grand Master Voldus of the Grey Knights and Roboute Guilliman in games of Warhammer 40,000;
– Warlord Traits and Relics for Ultramarines forces;
– Formations allowing you to field The Fallen, the Grey Knights’ Bulwark of Purity, the Victrix Guard of the Ultramarines and the Triumvirate of the Imperium;
– Daemonic Adversaries – these special rules allow you to field Grey Knights against enemies that are not necessarily Daemonic in nature, meaning your Grey Knights can be fielding without breaking narrative;
– 5 Echoes of War missions, detailing key battles from Rise of the Primarch;
– 3 Cataclysm of War missions – these represent desperate battles fought during the Gathering Storm.
– In Pursuit of the Fallen – special objectives to be used when fielding Cypher, units of the Fallen, and models of the Dark Angels faction.Advertisement
~Have fun folks, and check back all week for more Rise of the Primarch reviews and more.
