40 Years of Warhammer: Miniature Retrospective – Roboute Guilliman
The Primarch Roboute Guilliman returned to the tabletop in Warhammer 40,000 with a bang and helped to usher in a new era for the game.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Warhammer and Games Workshop is taking some time to look back at miniatures that had a big impact on their work. Today we’ve got the First Loyalist Primarch to return to Warhammer 40,000. Roboute Guilliman re-entered the game and heralded a massive update to the lore and actually pushed the setting forward. When the Primarch returned there was no going back and the game has moved forward ever since!
After a narrative of twists and turns, the impossible occurred – Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, returned from living death to an unrecognisable Imperium.
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Guilliman was now clad in the Armour of Fate, crafted in secret by Belisarius Cawl as equal parts armour and life support. Infused with the power of a newborn Aeldari god and delivered through an alliance of convenience between Cawl, Saint Celestine, and Yvraine of the Ynnari, the Armour of Fate is covered in intricate filigree and scrollwork – truly befitting a demigod.
Roboute Guilliman
When Guilliman returned it was a massive deal. At the time there was a full campaign happening around his return and it also launched the next the next era of Warhammer 40,000. Guilliman also ushered in the new Primaris Marines and they launched the Indomitus Crusade. It was a literal game changer for Warhammer 40,000 for both the setting and the game itself.
This event also marked the first time in a very long time that the story of Warhammer 40,000 was moving forward. In previous editions it always felt that we edging closer and closer to this “reset” point with the story as the editions went on. Eventually, the last codex would come out for that edition and then GW would “reset” the game again with a new edition. All the lore that was built up was recycled for the edition and maybe you’d get little bit more but eventually we’d hit that “reset” point in the era and *poof* back to square one.
All that changed with Guilliman new model. There was no going back now and the story was pushing forward and we haven’t looked back since! The last couple of editions of Warhammer 40,000 have continued to advance the overall plot of the game and we’ve since seen more Primarchs return (both Traitor and Loyalist). We’ve also seen more events start to shake things up and attempt to alter the status quo. We’ve blown past that “reset” point and we’re hurling in to the unknown parts of the 40k lore — and that’s all a huge thanks to Guilliman coming back.
As Games Workshop continues to push the story forward I’m sure we’ll only see more of these legendary characters reintroduced. Hopefully they’ll all get epicly appropriate introductions like Guilliman, the Lion, and Angron have gotten.
The future of the Grimdark is looking pretty bright!
