Warhammer 40K: Bring On More Imperial Navy Miniatures
We’re getting an Imperial Navy Kill Team. Now we want an expanded Imperial Navy Miniatures line, too.
We already covered some other Kill Teams we wish would get the full army treatment. We didn’t include the Imperial Navy on that list. Why? Because we stopped at five of them! But we’re rectifying that today as we take a closer look at the Imperial Navy and how they could become a full army.
The Imperial Navy
“The Imperial Navy is the physical manifestation of the Imperium’s power. From hulking Emperor-class battleships to agile Lightning fighters, the vessels of the Navis Imperialis enforce the Emperor’s will and secure void supremacy across vast expanses. The Navy patrols interstellar shipping lanes, transports warriors to battle, and engages enemy starfleets – it can even destroy whole planets!”
You’d think that a military force that has the power to destroy entire planets would show up more in Warhammer: 40,000 — at least on the tabletop. Unfortunately, their weapons of war are a little harder to represent. How do you showcase the power of an Emperor-class battleships on the tabletops of 40k? I would think you’d actually be fighting on the Emperor-class battleships as boarding action game!
Personally, I’d just make an orbital bombardment rule for them…but that’s just one idea.
It’s also not the first time we’ve seen the Imperial Navy do their thing on the tabletop. Many of the aircraft you see zooming around in 40k or in Aeronautica Imperialis could be piloted by Imperial Navy pilots. There have even been rules in past editions for Officers of the Fleet.
So it’s not that the Imperial Navy hasn’t been represented before — it’s just their roles have been a bit more abstracted out. Until now.
Beacher Teams Are Just The Beginning
Kill Team is finally giving the Breacher Teams a little bit of the spotlight. These teams are all about the tight quarters and boarding actions that the ships of the Imperial Navy partake in. And with the Imperial Navy being as massive as it is, you know that these teams are way more prominent than the model count would have you believe.
And it’s not JUST these breacher teams. Imperial ships can have thousands of crew on them. Some have hundreds of thousands on them! They are essentially floating cities and all those souls are there to toil under the flag of the Imperial Navy.
The Adeptus Astartes get a lot of the credit and spotlight when it comes to space fights. But the Imperial Navy is really the ones who do a lot of the heavy lifting. Just like the Imperial Guard is the backbone of the Imperiums ground might, the Imperial Navy is what keeps the rest of the Imperium connected — in space!
…So What Could Be Next For The Imperial Navy?
Well, in terms of representation on the tabletop, the doors pretty much wide open. Again, these ships can have hundreds of thousands of crew members. And sure, some of them might be auto-serfs or servitors but still…there’s got to be some sort of hierarchy on the ships. Not to mention the fact that these people would need basic needs met, too. The infrastructure required is just mind boggling.
In some ways, these ships sound live Hive cities with void engines and guns mounted on them. Maybe that’s a good place to start. There would be a lot of crew members to take into account and if they got boarded you can bet they would be fighting right alongside those Breacher Teams until they were cleared to return to duties again.
I wouldn’t be shocked if there were even forces that looked a lot like the Palanite Enforcers from Necromunda running around. Heck, Subjugator Patrols have riot shields which aren’t that far off from the Breacher Teams look, too.
I could even picture some of the Ogryns on the ship to supplement the workforce. And you can bet if the fighting started they would jump in an lend their muscle to repelling invaders!
I could even picture loader Sentinels being fitted with weapons in case of invaders. Having them on board seems reasonable as they are still small enough to move through some bulkheads but maybe not all of them.
The Imperial Navy already has a ton of Flyers to mess with, too. So they are good on that front. I don’t think they would have too many tanks laying around to be deployed.
And we haven’t even gotten into the Psykers that would be on board. Or the engineers. Or the Captain’s support staff of other officers that would be on the ship. The real question is where would the manpower of the Imperial Navy be focused. Sure, they have to run their ships for combat — but would they also get deployed on the ground to help supplement the Imperial Guard? And we’ve already covered boarding actions…
Oh and what about any “Special Forces” operatives that might be on a Battleship? Looking at the US Military as an example, the Navy does have the SEAL teams. Would there be an equivalent in the Imperial Navy?
The point is that the Imperial Navy is a branch of the Imperium of Man that doesn’t get a lot of attention on the tabletop. It’s an untapped military force with a LOT of possibilities. As long as they don’t step on the toes of the Imperial Guardsmen too much, I could see that fighting force getting a TON of models one day — and maybe even a full army.
And yes, we know the origins of the real life Marines and how they basically covered many of the functions that were mentioned above. But as Space Marines have spun off and become their own thing (and are their own space fleet now) as well as the Imperial Guard, why can’t the Imperial Navy get some love, too?
What do you think? Is there room for the Imperial Navy on the tabletop or are they just too abstracted to fit in 40k?
