Warhammer 40K: A New Sisters of Battle Codex Could Mean The End Of 9th Edition
Let’s talk about what a new Sisters of Battle Codex could mean for 9th Edition.
9th Edition is still less than a year old and it’s been a strange year. The edition, due possibly to global slow downs, still seems to be finding its legs, with only a relatively small handful of Codices updated to the new format. However despite it new age, there are signs that the edition may not be long for this world, let’s take a look at why that is.
Rumors of the End: Is A New Adepta Sororitas Codex Coming? 
GW has been pretty cagey with announcing upcoming books. With Drukhari and the Book of Rust coming out now, the only unreleased but officially confirmed book is the upcoming Adeptus Mechanicus codex. After that, there is currently a big old question mark as to what books are next. However, there are a lot of signs pointing towards a new Sister’s of Battle Codex coming out fairly soon. For one they were heavily featured in the 9th Edition trailer and launch artwork, alongside Necrons and Marines, both of which have gotten new books.
They also feature, aside the newly updated Drukhari in a new box set, a strange inclusion if there isn’t anything else going on with them. On top of that of course GW keeps on announcing new units for the army. Now a couple of these were simply characters which might have been glossed over, but there are also two new big and splashy vehicle kits, and we don’t know if this is all, or if more kits are coming either. Given the large number of kits, and the their boxed set this seems like a pretty large expansion of the army and something that could well coincide with a new Codex.
New Sisters Signal The End
So what does this mean for 9th Edition? Well veteran 40K players know that it’s a long held bit of Warhammer 40K wisdom that a new Sister of Battle Codex means that the current edition is going to end in mere months. Pretty much every time a new Sororitas Codex has come out – going all the way back to 2nd Edition in the 1990s, this has held true. Most recently the 8th Edition Codex had its official release at the start of 2020, and 9th Edition came out in July, almost exactly 6 months later. Due to this it’s almost certain that 10th Edition has to become right?
What’s The Timing? 
Well, timing is all-important for these releases, as GW normally puts out a new edition in the summer. Yet a release within the next 3 months wouldn’t match up with a summer release for 10th. It’s possible that 10th will be a small change edition, and GW could be shaking things up with a December release for 10th, and put out a new SoB book in June, that would be pretty reasonable. It’s also possible we are going to just see a long lead time on Sisters, with new stuff getting added in a campaign book, much like happened with AdMech, and a new Codex not coming out for a few months.
That kind of timeline would put Sisters of Battle in December/Jan again, and 10th Edition in July 2022. 2 years on an edition isn’t too bad, and putting out a new Marine book in August of 2022 would actually be a longer break between Marine books then we are used to getting. There is also the possibility that global delays and lockdowns have slowed GW’s timeline. Maybe sisters were supposed to already be out, in say Jan of this year, and 10th was slated for July-August this year its getting all pushed back. Maybe its all a mistake, but its still crazy to think of an edition getting replaced when it seems so half done.
On the Other Hand…
The only other possibility would be that Sister Curse will be broken at long last, and a new edition won’t follow their new Codex. But that can’t be. Right?
Let us know if you think a new book, and edition, is coming, down in the comments!
