40K Deep Thought: There Are a LOT of Primaris Marine Minis
Like the Stormcast Eternals before them, the Primaris kits are just flying out of Nottingham. Take a look at the numbers:
Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition came out in June 2017, and is just over 2 years old. In that time, we’ve had multiple waves of Primaris Marines unleashed on the world – and heck, over a dozen Primaris Lieutenants alone!
I wanted to break down the Primaris range (including the recent non-codex units) and compare it to the older Classic marine minis in the Space Marine codex to see just how much GW has rolled out onto the tabletop in that time:
HQ
Primaris: 9
Classic: 24
No surprise here, the Classics have a giant lead with all the named characters. I expect we will see that equalize as the more named characters cross the Rubicon Primaris like Calgar.
ELITES
Primaris: 6 (7 probably with the new “skinny dread”)
Classic: 19
Here is where the depth of the old Classic range and a lot of its bloat exists. There are a lot of dreads, terminators, and other exotic units from decades past that almost never see use in here. There are probably a half dozen solid units of the 19 Classic ELITES that see regular use.
TROOPS
Primaris: 2
Classic: 3
Now we’re getting somewhere. It would be a tie if it weren’t the dastardly Black Templars Crusader Squad – which kind of doesn’t count. This the beating heart of Marine lists and Primaris are good.
FAST ATTACK
Primaris: 2
Classic: 5
A clear advantage to the Classics, but again not by much, and several are uncommon (looking at you bikes)!
HEAVY SUPPORT
Primaris: 3
Classic: 11
All those Land Raider and anri-aircraft models add up. The Primaris HEAVY SUPPORT range still needs work, but I bet 1-2 combo kits based on the Repulsor or the unidentified Rhino sized grav chassis would fix this.
TRANSPORTS
Primaris: 1 (2 probable with the new “hover-rhino”)
Classic: 4
If the new blurry kit is a transport, then all is well. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Drop Pod or Land Speeder Storm.
FLYERS
Primaris: 0
Classic: 3
Here is where the Primaris line is clearly lagging. But again, exactly what makes a Flyer a Classic or Primaris unit? GW could just make any of these Primaris units by fiat on their datasheets. Add a quick helmetswap and you’re done. We will have to wait and see if GW really cares about Primaris only flyers.
LORDS OF WAR
Primaris: 0
Classic: 0
Guilliman is a Primarch, so I’m not counting him as either category. They are all his sons anyway.
Adding It Up
Primaris Totals
Total Units: 23 (25 counting the 2 unidentified models)
Age: 2 years
Rate of Release: 11.5 per year
Classic Marine Totals
Total Units: 69
Age: 21 years (based on age of oldest mini in the codex, Bikes from 1998)
Rate of Release: 3.2 per year
They have done all of this in only 2 years! Just imagine what things will look like in 2 more years, when we are certain to be well into 9th. I would think that like the Death Guard, the fastest way to extend the range at this point is with a slew of new single model named character HQs and ELITES.
I’m wondering if GW will slow things down, or keep pressing on full steam ahead like we saw with the enormous Stormcast Eternal range which is only 4 years old, but has over 50 kits! With all that 2018 money in the bank, I’m betting they keep their foot on the gas.
~It’s a lot of minis, I just didn’t think how many! How large do you think the Primaris will be in 2 years?
