40K Deep Thought: PriMarneus and the Long Saga of the Primaris
Let me explain why some Space Marine players have a bone to pick about the awesome new Marneus and Primaris Marines.
Hello everyone ! Black Blow Fly to liven up the party. So a lot of things have happened and it’s not all about the filthy xenos… about time. Marneus Calgar has been transformed into PriMarneus and Imperial Fist Intercessor Sergeants will have access to the truly epic Space Marine melee weapon – the Power Fist. Some Space Marine players have been both very vocal and concerned about the lack of customization for Nü Marines.
I am very excited about PriMarneus as soon as I saw the pictures. I also enjoy playing Primaris Space Marines. Truth be told Primaris Space Marines have sold well since their initial release in the Dark Imperium box set. Now let me explain why some Space Marine players have a bone to pick and note their are several reasons.
Pssst, look at that stat-line.
“Squatting” Old Marines
Some Space Marine players that have existing armies dating all the way back to the Third Edition feel threatened by the release of Primaris Space Marines and think GW will eventually stop production of the old Marines. While overall as a group they are unhappy with the current codex they do not support any advances of their faction. To me this is truly absurd and is a totally unsupportable position. Do you remember the Rogue Trader Beaky Marines? They probably don’t own any nor ever played them but do you ever remember Space Marine players from the original Rogue Trader era ever complaining about the advancement of Space Marines? I do not. At one time Space Marine were T3 and had a 4+ armor save… yep it’s true.
Now more than ever with the sudden evolution of all the horde armies the basic Space Marine stat desperately needs a serious boost. Hordes have all the strong combos such as advancing and being able to still charge plus other free boosts such as +1 to hit and extra attacks plus many of the best buffing and debuffing psychic powers… don’t even get me started about their totally awesome stratagems. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not against hordes but truly Space Marines could use a little love too. It’s really easy to feel bad.
Personally I like the true scale dimensions of the Primaris Space Marine along with +1 attack and two wounds. Can you imagine if we still had to play tiny Beaky Marines just to keep some people happy… LOL that would be just as absurd as all the hate for Primaris Space Marines.
I’m perfect the way I am!
Customization
Another gripe about Primaris Space Marines is the lack of any real customization but truly this is the new GW direction and features into all new kits that have been released since the introduction of Eighth Edition… its not just Primaris. Special Characters such as Marneus Calgar are perfect candidates for the Primaris treatment since they have fixed builds not including the things like the index (for example Dark Angels and the White Scars).
We’ve been working on this ALL ALONG!
Primaris Lore
There are plenty of gripes about the new lore for Primaris Space Marines and this happens a lot when the background is advanced or retconned. I am ambivalent towards the background for Primaris Space Marines. I can understand some of the hate but like I said it happens and players have literally begged for the advancement of the Warhammer 40k timeline for well over a decade looking back now. Never forget the ancient axiom ‘Be careful what you ask for.’ In truth some are never happy for whatever reason and they can be quite vocal about it too. I actually saw someone complaining that the new option to equip an Imperial Fist Intercessor Sergeant with a power fist should have been a thunder hammer and believe me when I tell you they are very upset too. /rolleyes
The Concern Trolls
There are some YouTuber and Social Media gadflies that love nothing better than raking the burning coals of discontent constantly spouting their hate for all things GW. Often they make false claims and peddle discontent to further their own agendas whatever that might be. I avoid them like the plague but that’s just me. Be careful what they say about Primaris Marines being bad for the game, and let’s try to avoid any idiots burning their armies in “protest” on YouTube this time around.
In Closing…
Does GW secretly intend to squat old Marines in the next coming years and does PriMarneus signal the true beginning of their end? I doubt it, but I reckon there will be no more new releases for old Marines. The Space Marine codex has lots and lots of bloat, there are many existing units prior to Eighth Edition that are not competitive. Things eventually change and change can be hard for entrenched old-timers. New players are constantly introduced to the game – they have no pre-existing prejudice either, in many ways they are the bright future of the hobby for this very reason.
~All Hail Our New Primaris Overlords!
