Warhammer 40K: GW Is Finally Doing Primaris Marines Right!
Since their announcement the Primaris Marines have been controversial. Now it seems GW have finally learned how to do Primaris right!
Another month, another batch of Marine models coming out. These seems like an endless song and dance we are all used to. Each edition sees the Marine Codex get more and more bloated. The single biggest culprit for this issue has been Primaris Marines. However it seems at last that GW has started to learn their lesson and we are getting Primaris done correctly. Take a look at how.
Primaris Bloat
When Primaris Space Marines were first introduced it seemed like GW was taking a moment to upgrade the Classic Marine line. Marines were going true scale and the old models would be replaced with updated and larger ones. However it soon became clear that for whatever reason GW had chosen not to take this path. Instead Primaris, both in the lore and the models were different then the older Classic Marines. These were not updates of old models, but totally new ones. At the same time the old Classic Marines, stuck around. It’s not clear if this was always the plan or if public outcry convinced GW to keep them around.
Whatever the case GW soon started pumping out a ton of new units. These units came with cool updated models and increasingly strange and confusing names. The Marine Codex soon became a bloated mess with a massive Primaris line existing alongside a massive line of older classic units. The thing is, no one really wanted this. Players by and large just wanted updates to the old models to bring them into the modern and larger era. The Primaris stuff could be cool, but it was also odd. Many units overlapped with classic units. At the same time trying to play an all Primaris force left you with a lot of holes in your army. It just wasn’t the way to go about it.
Dialing Back The Primaris
10th started off with a bit of a sea change, in a good way. The new Marine Index largely ditched Primaris as an idea, outside of some characters. Units were mostly defined by their armor. While some transports still could only carry either older (firstborn) or new (Primaris) units – those transports are less common. The idea of Primaris as a distinct faction within Space Marines was largely removed. This was further cemented by the release of a new kit for Classic Termiantors, one that did anyway with any firstborn/Primaris distinction and lore wise is made up of both. New Sternguad also reinforced this.
Redoing, Not Adding
That brings us to this weeks NOVA announcement. For what I think is the first time since 8th Edition launched we got an announcement of new Marine kits with out getting any new units. Even though we are a getting a good number of kits, all of them are in effect updates of older kits, with a few changes here or there. Now sure technically the new Jump Pack Intercessors are a “new unit”. But really they are just an updated version of the Assault Marines with Jump Packs unit that are being sent off to Legends.
We actually kind of had an idea this was going to happen. As I talked about the other week GW announcement of a number of Marines units going to Legends opened up some holes in the line up. In particular Jump Pack Marines and Scouts. But now GW has made it clear both are in effect getting new models. And this is, finally, the right way to do Primaris. Not with an endless stream of esoteric units that bloat the game and no one asked for. Instead with some nice targeted updates to classic models. Most of these units, with the exception maybe of the Jump Pack Intercessors aren’t even really Primaris. They are just Marines, a mix of all.
And even with little to no new units, all the new awesome miniatures are a huge step in the right direction.
Let us know what you think about these new releases, down in the comments!
