Warhammer 40K: The Next Big Chaos Push
Games Workshop is planning a big push for the new Chaos codexes. What does this mean for Chaos and the rest of 40k?
It’s about to be a turbulent time for the Grimdark Galaxy. Chaos is rising in more ways than one. The Nachmund Gauntlet is back under attack from Haarken Worldclaimer to start.
The Emperor’s Children are getting a new codex and units soon. And after them will be the other three “Cult Codexes” for Chaos, too. We’re about to have five Chaos Space Marine books when that happens.
- World Eaters
- Thousand Sons
- Death Guard
- Emperor’s Children
- Chaos Space Marines
That’s a really big batch of Chaos coming to the Grimdark and the tabletop this year. I hope everyone is prepared to deal with Power Armor of the spikier variety. And if you’re not, well, it might be time to prepare for them.
It’s also worth noting that GW foreshadowed the big chaos push last year. At the same time, it also feels like GW just surprised everyone with these chaos armies injected into this release slot. What do I mean? Well, look at the previous roadmap we had. You know the one…
Yeah. This one. GW teased “Special Chaos Treats” but I don’t think anyone had “all four chaos cult books released as a block” on their 2025 bingo card. Plus, look at the “codex release teasers image” above. It’s Astra Militarum, Aeldari, and…Imperial Knights.
It sure feels like something shifted since we saw that roadmap and the new one that was revealed this year. It looks like we’re still getting Knights…but AFTER this batch of Chaos books. And look, I’m not complaining! I think GW could go a tad faster on their codex releases for 40k. But what does all this chaos fervor mean for the rest of us — both in universe and on the tabletop?
…Because of the LOOOOOORE
In universe, I wonder if this is going to build up to something big and universe-shifting. For example, when the Emperor’s Children book finally drops are we going to get an explanation on where Fulgrim has been this whole time? To be fair, he’s been teased as being in the warp and in the background. But now he’s going to be on the tabletop and leading EC armies to battle. Surely, GW will give us a lore reason for the change, right?
Or maybe they won’t. And it will just be a “hand wave” and Fulgrim will be active in the universe moving forward. “Oh he’s been around this whole time leading the EC from the shadows.” That doesn’t feel very satisfying in the lore to me. Also, what do his Daemon Primarch Brothers think? Are they glad that all four of them are now “active” in the Grimdark again? Will they work together to attack the Imperium or will old beefs bubble up and sabotage their plans?
Also, what’s up with Abaddon and Vashtorr? They had some big plan, right? How does the arrival of Fulgrim play into that? Obviously, Abaddon has something going on or he wouldn’t have sent Haarken Worldclaimer to press the attack in the Nachmund Gauntlet.
There’s a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of plot threads that GW can follow. I don’t know if the lore in the Chaos Marine Cult books will cover that or not. I hope we get something other than the status quo on repeat again.
Chaos On The Tabletop
So what does this mean for Chaos on the tabletop? Well, for starters, it’s going to be an amazing time to be a Chaos fan. You’re about to get hit with a rapid fire of Chaos codexes to play with! If you’re collecting them all your wallet isn’t going to like you…but you’re hobby table is going to be slammed for sure.
The Special Editions of the Codexes are also coming. They are pretty fancy looking. But don’t buy them for the rules as those will be obsolete in the next edition. Buy them for the extras. The metal coins and the Chaos Undivided medallion.
To be honest, I don’t really care about the rules or even the books themselves. As pretty as they are, I’d rather get my hands on the metal coins to use as fancy objective markers and that Chaos Undivided symbol. But I’m getting distracted by the shiny metal stuff.
At the end of the day when all these Chaos books land we’re going to have a new meta on the tabletop. We’re also going to have full Chaos Space Marine Cult armies with unique rules for all four of the chaos gods for the first time in a LONG time. That’s pretty exciting as a fan of the game and particularly for chaos. I do wonder if we’re going to end up losing something in the process though. This IS chaos after all. The chaos gods are fickle and self-sabotaging. This is a lot of “good” for them. So you know there’s about to be something bad coming…
What do you think the master plan of Chaos is here? And by extension what is GW planning to do with Chaos in 40k?
