Quick Thoughts on New Space Marine Codex: Salamanders Captain Tu-Shan= Return of Vulkan?

Got pulled right back into Warhammer 40K and away from Warmahordes this weekend with the purchase of the new Space Marine codex.  Reading this reminds me how much Games Workshop is top dog in the tabletop wargaming industry.  The vast amount of information and quality of the fluff of the codex can't be beat.  It goes without saying that the Space Marines are GW's bestseller, so naturally the codex is an awesome tome of genetically-engineered super human action.  I mean, who wasn't pulled into Warhammer 40K because of the Space Marines?  And if not, which wargamers still don't own a Space Marine army?

The new codex is 208 pages of space mahreen badassness.  The paper is thick, thick stock and the art is beautiful, even if a lot of it is rehashed from other Warhammer publications. 

After a quick read through here are my initial thoughts on it:

• It doesn't appear that the mini-marines are going anywhere in the near future as they still occupy the majority of the codex.  
• The Primaris marines account for seven new units with the Intercessors as Troops, Reivers as Elites, Aggressors as Elites, Redemptor Dreadnoughts as Elites, Inceptors as Fast Attack, Hellblasters as Heavy and Repulsor as a transport.

• Only the Primaris marines can ride in the Repulsor and other marines cannot ride in it.  That makes no sense at all.
• The Primaris marines cannot ride in any other transports, i.e., the Land Raiders and Stormravens.  That doesn't make any sense at all either.
• Gravis armor is a +3 save but wearers get an extra point of toughness when donning it.
• The Primaris chaplain looks like pimp in his trench coat and with his stick.  All he needs is a feather hat to replace his iron halo-looking rosarius.

• There's a new cheaper HQ for both Primaris and mini-marines called the Lieutenant.
• The Tartaros Terminators are the most expensive terminators per terminator point-wise.
• Tu-Shan is referred to as a Captain... Is that any way connected to Vulkan coming back (read the below)?

• Power fists and thunderhammers got nerfed a bit by only being a -3 armor modifier instead of AP2 under the previous system.
• Terminator armor got a bit better in melee by still being able to withstand attacks by power fists and thunderhammers.
• Salamanders are pretty darn good with their re-rolls chapter trait, +1 to wound rolls with flamers stratagem and +1 strength Warlord trait.

Thanks for the read and For the Emperor!!!

Unboxing Games Workshop's 8th Edition Warhammer 40K Dark Imperium Set

Lost amongst the hustle and bustle of wife's birthday and Father's Day was my receipt of Games Workshop's 8th Edition Warhammer 40K Dark Imperium Set as my Father's Day present and part of the purchase from the funds of the sale of my beloved Salamanders.

To be honest, I've never been so impressed by a box set.  This thing just oozed quality.  Upon removing the plastic, I realized that the set was broken up into two boxes within the box.

The top contains the Primaris and Death Guard minis while the bottom box houses the rule books, dice and bases.  Get this- the top box has an artificial seal (sticker) that you have to break open to access the minis.

I broke the seal ("Hehehehehehehe... he said break the seal" in my best Beavis voice) and was able to view the minis and the books in all of their glory.

Here's a close up of the books.

The rule book is a full-sized hardback book with one of those ribbon things to save your place!

The dice aren't those cheapy plasticy dice but rather made of nice clear red acrylic.  The ruler isn't paper but nice clear plastic too!  There's also a mini rule card for the sake of convenient gaming.

Here are my faves, the new true-scale Primaris space marines.

And their counterparts, the contagious, plague-ridden Death Guard.

I've never been more excited about a box set for a game.  If only Privateer Press could deliver something this cool...  But heck, their Widower's Wood game looks pretty good.  I have that coming on the way and will review that too. 

Games Workshop successfully delivered a hit with the quality of the packaging and the awesome minis and books inside.  I'll be back over the next few weeks with posts of my Primaris marines as they are built and painted. 

New Primaris Space Marines

Games Workshop is finally making the Space Marines that I've always wanted!  Today they officially announced the upcoming release of the Primaris Space Marine, as shown below.

From the pictures in the actual GW promo video, it appears that the Primaris stands a head taller than its older Space Marine counterparts.  Check out actual video of the Primaris below:

It's appropriate that we finally will have realistic scale Space Marines that tower over regular humans (the marines are supposed to average around eight feet tall).  The current marines in their weird Space Marine squat pose stand just as tall as regular human Imperial Guardsmen.

Here's a picture of the current squatty Space Marine below:

The official GW site states that:

"The Primaris Space Marine is a new breed of hero for this, the darkest age in the Imperium’s history. These new warriors are the next step in the evolution of the Emperor’s Angels of Death – genetically altered from their brethren to be bigger, stronger and faster – timely reinforcements to the Imperium’s armies as their enemies close in for the kill."

Here's a screenshot of the new Primaris from the video.

He has longer legs and a smaller head-to-body proportion than his squatty current brethren.  Look at the cool stuff he is armed with, a new bolt gun pattern and a new mark of power armor.  Not only that, he has better stats than the current marines and two wounds, making him much closer to the movie marines we read about in the fluff.   Finally, for all those worried that Guilliman's Ultramarines would be the only ones getting the Primaris, the official GW site says this:

"Any of the galaxy’s many hundreds of Codex Chapters can use Primaris Space Marines, along with many of the less Codex-compliant ones like Dark Angels, Blood Angels and Space Wolves."

I can't wait for the Primaris release, possibly next month... Thanks for the read!