Space Marine Roundup

 

As both the premier faction for 40K and one of the two armies coming in Leviathan, because I'm pretty sure Astartes have been in every launch box since 2nd Edition, Space Marines have gotten a lot of coverage.  Also, despite having by far the largest number of data sheets in the game, they're also getting plenty of new units instead of just new sculpts.  If you play 40K, it's honestly never a bad time to play Space Marines.

ARMY RULES

Oath of Moment kinda shook the internet a bit when it was revealed.  It's a rule that can potentially be busted depending on the size of the game and the army you're playing.  However, it definitely feels like a rule with interesting counter-play.  If you can set it up so you have a perfect target for Oath of Moment, then properly protect that target, you can end up with the Space Marine player basically wasting their Army Rule for the turn.  Additionally, Oath of Moment is not going to be a part of Combat Patrol, meaning the game size it would be most destructive in isn't affected.

Combat Doctrines is another story though.  All of them are extremely useful, especially Assault Doctrine.  I've already shown my love for Advance and Charge!  A Space Marine player that knows how to pilot their army is going to be terrifying!

UNITS

Space Marine units are tougher than they've ever been.  We're now seeing both increases in toughness and wounds throughout many datasheets.  Combined with the changes to weapon profiles, many Space Marine units are going to be hard to shift.  Space Marines are also a Ld 6+ army, and it looks like they'll have at least a few rules to help them "Know No Fear."  And if you can kill a Space Marine unit, watch out . . . for Only In Death Does Duty End.

Speaking of which, Bobby G looks like he definitely deserves that Monster keyword.  He may not be as scary as Angron or Be'lakor, but he'll still destroy nearly anything he's fighting.  Even better, he has the same rule Cawl does to gain Loan Operative.  So you can't do much about him until he's in your face.  But probably the most interesting thing about him is the ability to designate a second target for Oath of Moment.  While you'll probably use Supreme Strategist more often, Master of Battle can be devastating if your opponent leaves two priority targets open.

We've also seen a few previews for Space Marine vehicles, and they all look like they'll be pretty tough to shift or at least survive to fill their role.  But of course, the real vehicle reveal was the venerable Land Raider.  The Land Raider's Assault Ramp ability means you're not gonna have any difficulty delivering your best melee bruisers into combat.  Interestingly, the Godhammer Lascannon doesn't have Twin-Linked, it just gets to keep its 2 shots.

Also interesting, but in the other direction is the statline for melta weapons.  In the lore, melta weaponry is dedicated anti-armor or bunker busting.  But despite maintaining its high AP, it's only Strength 9.  That means it will be wounding anything tougher than a Rhino on 5s.  And if anything T18 drops . . .

Finally, we have the reveal of one of the Space Marine psychers.  The Terminator Librarian just flat out gives a unit Sustained Hits 1 on all attacks.  He also reveals that some psychic powers like Smite will have a safe profile and a dangerous profile.  This is one of the cards that makes me wonder about weapon selection for shooting.  Does he get to use his Bolter/Combi-weapon and cast Smite?  Or are these backup weapons for if he's facing something immune to Psychic attacks?

MODELS

As part of the Leviathan box, Space Marines are getting a bunch of new models.  Literally every unit in the box is a new sculpt.

First, we have our Terminator Captain.  Perched on both a Tactical Rock and Tactical Tyranid, he just looks awesome.  Look at that defiant "Come and get me!" expression!  If I have any criticism, I wish he was aiming that Storm Bolter.

Next we have our Terminator Librarian, striding forward as he unleashes psychic might!  I think I like this one even more than the Captain.  Though I do find it amusing that even with the action pose, he just can't help but find a tactical rock!

For some reason, GW decided that Space Marines needed a new Apothecary unit.  So this is not a Gravis Apothecary, but an Apothecary Biologis.  It's a good model, but I don't understand why he can't just be an Apothecary.

There was a joke with this one that GW just had to add in another Primaris Lieutenant.  GW seems to think they can skirt this by calling him a Phobos Lieutenant.  But they're not fooling anyone.  Still, that is a lot of amazing flavor on this model.

With 10th, GW does seem to be trying to blur the line between the two types of Marines, though.  Here we have a group of Sternguard, clearly featuring at least one model with a Mark VII helm.  It's a good looking unit all around.

Then we have our literal Poster Boys.  I love these new Terminators so much.  I've always loved Terminators, Space Hulk being my introduction to 40K.  Seeing them redone in the new scale and proportions while still being so incredibly faithful to the original designs is a real treat.

Then we get the miss of Leviathan, the Infernus Squad.  For the most part, these are just Primaris with flamers.  But as many have pointed out, that flamer has kind of an awkward grip to it.  Additionally, depending on how Overwatch works now, do we really need Space Marines to have a flamer screen unit?

Someone needs to let Bobby G know that not everyone in a unit needs to have the same gun . . .

Finally, we get the new Ballistus Dreadnought.  Again, I really like the call back to the old, boxy Dreadnoughts I grew up with.  This machine looks like it can easily stand in the back line and lay down suppressing fire for his brothers while they safely advance.  Another big win in my opinion.

WHAT'S NEXT?

At this point we've learned a lot about what to expect from Space Marines when the rules finally drop.  They can obviously still leak more; Space Marines are a huge codex after all.  But I know the community wants to see more from the revealed factions.  Hopefully as we get more teasers for 10th, we'll see fewer Marines and more reveals for other factions.