Warhammer 40K: Maybe We Don’t Need Another Loyalist Primarch
Guilliman seems to be doing just fine without his brother’s help — maybe they would just get in the way.
The Loyalist Primarchs are either MIA or KIA. Not that being dead or presumed dead has ever stopped folks from getting a rebirth in 40k. I mean, for YEARS Roboute Guilliman was locked in stasis and was essentially dead…until he got better. And of all his brothers maybe he was the best option to bring back. He’s got the organizational skills to run an empire, he wrote the book on Chapter Organization, and he’s being doing a fine job of running the Imperium since he launched the Indomitus Crusade so far…so maybe he doesn’t need any help.
What If…They Came Back?
Let’s be honest, if one of the Loyalist Primarchs is going to come back, it’s gotta be for one of the Chapters that has an army behind it. I’m talkin about the Big 3:
- Blood Angels
- Dark Angels
- Space Wolves
Sorry to all the Salamanders, White Scars, Imperial Fists, Raven Guard, and Iron Hands players out there…while your armies DID get some love and are arguably even better in some cases than the Big 3, you’re all stuck in the Vanilla Marine Shadow of Guilliman.
Now, as far as the Big 3 are concerned, we have to rule out Sanguinus, right? Cause he’s dead-dead. They have his body and everything. And it’s not like they can use Space Magic to resurrect him.
Plus, if they did that, then how would GW handle the Black Rage and stuff. It’s not like their entire chapter could just “get over it” or anything. Having the Black Rage is basically a death sentence and we just don’t know what could happen if a Blood Angel ever got mastery over it or anything…
So that basically leaves Leman Russ or Lion El’Jonson, right?
The Lion Sleeps Tonight?
We all know that the Lion is basically sleeping on the Rock just waiting for his alarm to go off and wake him from his 10,000 year slumber. But if/when he does come back, what’s going to happen? I mean, we’re talking about Dark Angels here…and we’re also talking about the return of a LOYALIST Primarch. So that basically rules him out.
But if he did come back that would basically put Guilliman in a pickle. Does he trust his “oh so trustworthy” brother? Does he split his power base with him? What would the Lion think of the Primaris Protocol? What if they don’t agree – are we looking at a new civil war?
Those are all questions you’d have to ask no matter which Primarch returned. But the Lion also has one other issue to deal with:
And who was it that helped Guilliman out and basically rode with him back to Terra? Yeah…I bet that was a fun conversation.
Full Moon On Fenris
Of the Big 3, I think Leman Russ would actually be the best fit. The Space Wolves were always “The Emperor’s Executioners” and, while Russ is amazing in a fight, he’s not exactly known for his planning/managerial skills. He’s a great counterbalance to Guilliman. If Russ was to come back he’d really just gather his boys and go smash some Chaos faces. There’s probably one in particular he’s got a bone to pick with, too:
Come at me, Bro.
And again, you’d have to answer some of those same questions about how Russ would react to how Guilliman is running things. But, again, at the end of the day I still think Russ would be the less intrusive of the Primarchs to come back to help Guilliman out.
Just Stay Away
Sure, the Imperium is split in half thanks to the warp, but you know what — he’s been picking up the pieces and doing what he can. So if the other Primarchs just want to keep being absent…well, screw those guys. Guilliman going to do it himself.
Jokes aside, which Primarch(s) do you think would actually help Guilliman out the most and which ones do you think would cause more trouble than they are worth?
Did the reverse psychology work? Maybe now we’ll get a new Loyalist Primarch…
