Warhammer 40K: It’s Time For A New Space Marine Codex

Let’s take a look at the hints that a new Space Marine Codex is coming out.

Space Marines are still doing well with a good mid tier 9th Edition Codex. Plenty of armies still need a new book, and even some that have gotten one wish it was as good as the Marines. However some recent things hint that Marines might be getting new books soon. Lets take a look.

Initial Marine Rumors 

As we’ve covered recently there are some major rumors going around about new Marine stuff. These rumors dealt with three main things:

1. Updates to older supplements.
2. A new long ranged high damage Primaris unit
3. A new heavy dreadnought.

None of this seems very far fetched. The supplements for instance really need updating. Not only were they meant to work with an older Codex, but many have been FAQ’d so much, that core parts of them don’t work anymore. They also lack a bunch of things the newer 9th Ed supplements have. Overall, they are generally uneven and lackluster these days. New Primaris units also is pretty believable. But these of course are just rumors.

Actual Marine Announcements

At the end of last year GW announced two new Marine models. A new Primaris Ancient and a Primaris Captain in Gravis armor. At first glance this isn’t anything major as these are existing unit with rules. However both of these models have something interesting.  Both have new weapon options that are not supported under the current Codex datasheet. That means in order to be legal they will updated datasheet. These don’t have to come in a codex. They could just come with the box, we’ve seen this before – in Shadowspear for example. They could also come in a supplement or one of the warzone or season books. For now. At some point they are likely to make their way into a new Codex.

It’s About Time

While it might seem like Marines have a recent Codex, their book will be two years old this October. We’ve gotten at least one Marine book every 2 years since 6th Edition. 8th Edition of course saw two core Space Marine books drop. The first one stuck around for 2 years, while the second only last about a year. (Technically it saw three if you count the Index).  Both the 6th Edition and 7th Edition Marine Codices were replaced after about two years.

Given all this it seems pretty reasonable to expect a new Marine book out in late summer or early fall. This would be perfectly in line with the last decade of Marine books. It wouldn’t even be the fastest a Marine Codex was replaced. If anything NOT getting a new Marine Codex this year would be an outlier. Making the current codex the longest lived in close to a decade.

Marines DO Need a New Codex

As much as I hate to admit it, the game really will need a new Space Marine codex. Yes there are a number of other armies that need a new book more. But Space Marines are the largest and most popular faction. They need to be up to date for the health of the game. So what’s wrong with their current book you might ask? Well nothing really, yet. But there are a couple issues. The old supplements really need to be updated. That’s a biggy. Then we’ve got the new units. You’ve got some potential units that have been rumored, and you’ve got new datasheets for old units we know are coming. Now these don’t have to be in a Codex, then could come elsewhere. But they really, really really should be in the Codex.

We’ve all been gaming through the age of Vigilus and Pyshic Awakening. We’ve seen the rules bloat of 8th Ed. Players shouldn’t have to carry around random datasheet cards to use their armies. They shouldn’t have to be pulling core units from a Codex, supplement, card, and a couple season books. So just for the sake of sanity. When these new units come out, we should get a new codex that has everything in it.

Let us know if you think there be a new Marine Codex, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.