Warhammer 40K: Is GW Secretly Working On A Traitor Guard Army?

Have we all missed the brand new army? Here’s why I think a Traitor Guard codex may be in the works for Warhammer 40K.

Every now and then, GW adds new armies to Warhammer 40,000. In recent years this has become more and more common, with the last 3 editions seeing a large bump in the number of armies and armies books. GW tends to do this in one of two ways. The most obvious is with the “Big New Army Release”™ . Think Leagues of Votann. An army comes out in one big wave with a new book and all new models. It’s splashy and big.

However, GW also, more often, one could say, makes use of a sort of stealth release. They will release a few units that can often be used in other armies. Then GW will release a new Codex. It will come with some new models but will also make use of some existing ones. This is how the newer Chaos Legion books have worked, as well as Custodian Guard. So, is GW doing this again? We’ve already looked at how they might be doing this with a Rogue Trader army and also with the Dark Mechanicum. Today let’s take a look at another army that might be getting this treatment.

The Army Everyone Wants, But Was Lost

Traitor Guard are without a doubt one of the most requested armies. They are also a very commonly converted/proxy army. People really love the idea, and it makes a ton of sense in the lore. Indeed this is an army that kind of sort of has existed and does exist. Currently you can always just choose to play your Astra Militarium army as a Traitor Guard force. It kind of works, but leaves a lot to be desired. Back in Third Edition, a full 20 years ago, there was also a form it. Codex: Eye of Terror introduce a Lost and the Damned army list. This was pretty close to a Traitor Guard army. It’s certainly the closest we’ve been seen so far. However GW might just be slowly putting one out.

The Orphan And Strange Units

Blackstone Fortress put out a lot of cool and unique units and models. A fair amount of theme involved Traitor Guard.  In fact the side game contained most of what could be the core of a Traitor Guard force. This included not only the basic infantry, which had some good variety, but also a bunch of units that could stand in as Elites or HQs. None of these units have really found a home anywhere. and though they have 40K rules you don’t see them played. On top of that GW has been introducing just a ton of Cultist and mutant units. Each god, save the Prince of Pleasure, has their own cultists. The CSM book also included a large number of new mutant units. None of these really fit in in that book, or had clear reasons for existing within the big theme of Chaos Space Merines. But what if these units had another intended home?

A Traitor Guard Army List

Lets take a look at existing units that could make sense in a Traitor Guard/Lost And the Damned Army.

• Traitor Guard (Blackstone Fortress).
• Chaos Beastmen (Blackstone Fortress)
• Negavolt Cultists (Blackstone Fortress)
• Rogue Psykers  (Blackstone Fortress)
• Firebrand Cultists (Blackstone Fortress)
• Traitor Commissar  (Blackstone Fortress)
• Chaos Ogryn (Blackstone Fortress)
• Thousand Sons Cultists (Codex: Thousand Sons)
• Tzaangors  (Codex: Thousand Sons)
• Tzaangor Shaman  (Codex: Thousand Sons)
• Tzaangor Enlighted (Codex: Thousand Sons)
• Death Guard Cultists (Codex: Death Guard)
• Poxwalker (Codex: Death Guard)
• Jakhals (Codex: World Eaters)
• Daemon Prince (Various Books)
• Dark Commune(Codex:CSM)
• Cultists Mob (Codex:CSM)
• Accursed Cultists (Codex:CSM)
• Chaos Spawn (Various Books)

As you can see there are almost 20 existing units/models that could fit into this type of army. They do tend to lean very heavily towards infantry in troops in particular. There are a fair amount of HQ and elites as well.  However it wouldn’t take a ton to add in a few units to act as fast attack and heavy support. These could be some existing Astra Militarum “generic” units with extra bits (like AM tanks with an Traitor Guard Vehicle Accessory sprue). They could also be something new. Nor should everything on this list be in the book, but any combination of the above could serve as a nice core to a new army. This is one I really hope comes to fruition.

Let us know what you think about this idea for an army, 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.