40K: Dark Mechanicus Rising – Hints & Clues
Is Games Workshop planning on unleashing the Dark Mechanicus to the game? The Magic 8-Ball Says “Signs Point To Yes.”
For a long time, the Dark Mechancius has been in the background of 40k. It’s a shadowy organization that has allied itself with the Traitor Legions and Chaos Gods to produce daemonically infused weapons of war. Their finger prints have been all over the game in the past but Games Workshop has been slowly laying the foundation for more from this faction.
Hidden Threat No More
We’ve seen the Dark Mechanicus’ handiwork in the game with creations like the Defiler, Heldrake, and Forge/Maulerfiends. Heck, we even have Warpsmiths that have been part of the Chaos Space Marine Army for almost as long. Now we more units in the game like Venomcrawlers that echo that same design. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg that is the Dark Mechanicus.
Raise your tentacle if you’re a design from the Dark Mechanicus
Let’s go back and take a look as some of the other clues that GW has been dropping for us to follow. It’s time to go down the Dark Mechanicus Rabbit hole.
Get your Tinfoil hat’s on – it’s time to go conspiracy hunting!
Blackstone Fortress: Negavolt Cultists
Blackstone Fortress has been a treasure trove of teasers. The biggest piece of evidence for the arrival of the Dark Mechanicus in the box was very clearly the Negavolt Cultists models. We’ve been waiting to see what ELSE GW has in-store for this unit – and what it could lead to in the future. These models are the vanguard of the Dark Mechanicus in terms of style and tone. While units like the Defiler, Venomcrawler, Heldrake, and the Forge/Maulerfiends were adapted/created for the Chaos Space Marines, the Negavolt Cultists are clearly Dark Mechanicus all the way.
Shadowspear: Planet Nemendghast And Daemon Engine Forges
If you’ve been keeping up with the current storyline around Shadowspear then you’re familiar with Nemendghast. But if you’re not, basically it’s one of the planets that was/is part of the Vigilus system. However, it was caught inside the Warp and when it re-emerged, it was transformed. It became a massive soulforge for Daemon Engines.
That’s why the Vanguard Space Marines were sent there – to learn what had a happened and to attempt to stop it. And if you don’t think the Dark Mechancius had a hand in this you haven’t been paying attention.
Chaos Space Marines: Lord Discordant
The new Lord Discordant kit has a few more hints and clues that he’s not just a Chaos Space Marine – he’s also part of the Dark Mechanicus. Aside from his in-game ability to mess with vehicles, his knee-pad has the symbol of the Dark Mechanicus – the Skull/Cog combo. And Mecha-tendrils. That’s also kinda their thing…
If you’re keeping tabs, the Dark Mechanicus now have a Basic Troop Unit (Negavolt Cultists), Heavy/Flyer Options (all the Daemon Engines), and HQ options (Lord Discordant and Warpsmiths). Is that enough to launch a new sub-faction? Not quite, but it’s not far from getting there!
Future Battlezone: Mars?
Abe went into more detail about this yesterday so I won’t rehash it here. But Mars is home to the Mechanicus and the Dark Mechanicus was basically born there, too. GW did tease us with five planets and hits about Future Warzones:
Now, those did come from GW’s “stock” planet art. But what if they are hinting at something coming to …or awakening on Mars? Talk about bringing the war close to home!
Games Workshop has a long history of planting seeds for future twists and turns. Age of Sigmar, for example, is just now getting the culmination of the Slaanesh story-line and it’s been simmering since the game launched in 2015! It sure seems like GW could be easing the Dark Mechanicus into the game with a trickle of things here and there. Will this add-up to a brand new Chaos Allied Faction? Time will tell.
What do you think? Is GW setting up the introduction of the Dark Mechanicus? Let us know what you think in the comments!
