Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness: November 2023 – Traitor Primarchs are Sooo In!
Goatboy here. Right now the big thing I keep seeing is in any army that can take them – the Traitor Primarchs are totally the 40K Meta Hotness right now. Here’s why.
I expect them to stay in, too as each one seems designed to do what they want them to – be the cornerstone of your army and the most important piece to show up on the tabletop. The Primarchs were always an interesting piece to the 40K lore puzzle. Great leaders of genetically upgraded supermen designed to go wreck the galaxy in the name of their Big Daddy Emperor. This is all well and good as we love stories about super people punching stuff in the name of “things” but how do we get them to work well on the tabletop?
It isn’t hard to get something to be powerful, but it also needs to do more than that. It needs to lead the army in some form. Throw in a ton of attacks, a damage super shot, or lots of speed, and we got the powerful down. But how it can lead an army is a whole other thing. Especially in these days of the bad guys showing up on the table a heck of a lot more now.
Traitor Primarchs Leading Through Example
The current Primarch you see for one army all the time is, of course – the World Eater’s Angron. His design is pretty simple in that he is much more capable going off and punching things by himself versus leading a ton of ravaging jerks to the battlefield. He does help his “kids” out, but really he is set up as the ultimate murder-hobo designed to do things to you when they get close. This is him really leading his army play style as an example. I feel he is pretty on par with where he needs to be.
On the other side of it you have Mortarion, who is much more a centerpiece leader of his army. He gives off some sweet auras, is much more protective of his Death Guard bois, and feels heavily needed in the disgusting way the army needs to play. It is an encroaching doom that has him move up, settle in, and infect an area for the rest of his army to feast on the destruction.
Magnus the Red is another fun one that feels a bit off as he should be offensive in power like Angron – but then do a lot more for his “cult” as a leader. I still think you should see him in any of Thousand Sons armies we might see as he does a lot for them. It again showcases how these models are truly centerpieces to their overall battlefield strategy of getting the job done.
Traitor Primarch Damage Potential
Beyond anything else, these guys need to do something powerful to the game. Angron keeps coming back fully powered up, so you can throw him into anything. Mortarion floats over and is always a threat to super-scythe something that gets too close. He leads his army by example and expands their threat radius with his contagions and auras. Magnus can throw out damage like no other with his big attacks and powerful spells too.
All of these angry guys really showcase a powerful game-alternating ability by just being in the right place at the right time. Their speed, damage, and auras make them have escalating damage potential that can shift the game quickly in their favor. You have to deal with them, or they start to snowball as they start to wreck your space.
Traitor Primarchs Tough as Nails
All of the Primarchs take a heck of lot more attention to get rid of than other options. This ability to take more damage and let the rest of your army do their work is important in how they play. If your opponent takes most of his army to remove this guy – it means you have another turn to get into place. This makes things like Angron such a pain as you can remove him, and then next turn he comes back – more angry.
A Tournament Example
Anthony Vanella ran completed a clinic during the California cup this past weekend. Angron was a major factor in a lot of his wins and you can see a good deal of them streamed online. He really used the ability for Angron to “lone wolf” it out there to help ensure the rest of his raving maniacs got to where they needed.
World Eaters
Berzerker Warband
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Angron (415 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Samni’arius and Spinegrinder
Khârn the Betrayer (80 Points) • 1x Gorechild
1x Khârn’s plasma pistol
Lord Invocatus (140 Points) • 1x Bolt Pistol
1x Coward’s Bane
1x Juggernaut’s bladed horn
World Eaters Lord on Juggernaut (130 Points) • 1x Exalted chainblade
1x Juggernaut’s bladed horn
1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancements: Favoured of Khorne
World Eaters Master of Executions (105 Points) • 1x Axe of dismemberment
1x Bolt pistol
• Enhancements: Berzerker Glaive
BATTLELINE
Jakhals (70 Points)
• 1x Jakhal Pack Leader • 1x Autopistol
1x Jakhal chainblades
• 1x Dishonoured
• 1x Skullsmasher
• 8x Jakhal
• 8x Autopistol
1x Icon of Khorne
7x Jakhal chainblades 1x Mauler chainblade
Khorne Berzerkers (200 Points)
• 1x Khorne Berzerker Champion • 1x Berzerker chainblade
1x Icon of Khorne
1x Plasma pistol
• 9x Khorne Berzerker
• 7x Berzerker chainblade 7x Bolt pistol
2x Khornate eviscerator 2x Plasma pistol
Khorne Berzerkers (100 Points)
• 1x Khorne Berzerker Champion • 1x Berzerker chainblade
1x Icon of Khorne
1x Plasma pistol
• 4x Khorne Berzerker
• 3x Berzerker chainblade
3x Bolt pistol
1x Khornate eviscerator
1x Plasma pistol
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
World Eaters Rhino (75 Points) • 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
World Eaters Rhino (75 Points) • 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Eightbound (135 Points)
• 1x Eightbound Champion
• 1x Lacerators
• 2x Eightbound
• 2x Eightbound eviscerators
Exalted Eightbound (150 Points)
• 1x Exalted Eightbound Champion • 1x Paired Eightbound chainfists
• 2x Exalted Eightbound
• 2x Eightbound chainfist
2x Eightbound eviscerator
Exalted Eightbound (300 Points)
• 1x Exalted Eightbound Champion
• 1x Paired Eightbound chainfists • 5x Exalted Eightbound
• 5x Eightbound chainfist
5x Eightbound eviscerator
2000pts
Using the Traitor Primarch List
As you see in Anthony’s list – Angron is extremely important. Beyond just doing the damage, he can easily soak in shots that the other parts of the list might not like. Then he can come in and punch the crap out of something, and then come back like boss after dying in a blazing fireball of glory. All of the Primarchs are good and I expect them to stay good when their books come out. These monsters aren’t going away and I expect a new one to show up in the next year in all their slithering glory.
