changemod wrote:

 Mymearan wrote:
... at the same time, I'm wondering what I should do with my hundred baby marines... they suddenly don't feel as cool :(

And there you've hit why this is a problem on the head, at least fluff wise (models are fine as far as I can see).

There is no way this can be spun that doesn't cheapen normal space marines, which just went from humanity's finest mass production supersoldiers to "I guess they'll do, they're no Indomitus marine though."

And sure, Custodes already fit the design space of "double space marine", but the distinction there is that they aren't mass produced. These fellows have been shipped out all over the galaxy and even have entire all-Indomitus chapters already.

 Galas wrote:
The marine in the far right, the one without helmet, and with the Mohawk... isn't he familiar?

Spoiler:

 Malika2 wrote:
Mk X armour? What happened to Mk IX?

Vorian wrote:

 Galas wrote:
The marine in the far right, the one without helmet, and with the Mohawk... isn't he familiar?

Spoiler:

Isn't that a current Marine?

Lord Kragan wrote:

changemod wrote:

 Mymearan wrote:
... at the same time, I'm wondering what I should do with my hundred baby marines... they suddenly don't feel as cool :(

And there you've hit why this is a problem on the head, at least fluff wise (models are fine as far as I can see).

There is no way this can be spun that doesn't cheapen normal space marines, which just went from humanity's finest mass production supersoldiers to "I guess they'll do, they're no Indomitus marine though."

And sure, Custodes already fit the design space of "double space marine", but the distinction there is that they aren't mass produced. These fellows have been shipped out all over the galaxy and even have entire all-Indomitus chapters already.

Greyknights and Deathwatch. That's all that there's to say. Double space marine has been a thing since the last two editions.

Vorian wrote:

 Galas wrote:
The marine in the far right, the one without helmet, and with the Mohawk... isn't he familiar?

Spoiler:

Isn't that a current Marine?

 xttz wrote:

 stonehorse wrote:
This could lead to civil war in the Imperium, a big split, which I think has been needed for a while. The game has always had too much of a focus on the Imperium, so we end up with Marines vs Marines a lot of the time in games.

So you think the solution to seeing Marines vs Marines a lot of the time is a civil war plot device where... Marines inevitably fight Marines?

So, what’s a Primaris Space Marine?

These are a brand-new breed of warrior, commissioned by the Primarch Guilliman and developed in secret on Mars for the past 10,000 years by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl. Find out all about them and check out an awesome video here.

Are all my current Space Marine miniatures redundant now?

No way! Primaris Space Marines do not replace regular (if a superhuman killing machine can be described as ‘regular’) Space Marines. These guys have a few extra genetic enhancements, thanks to Belisarius Cawl, and serve as additional reinforcements in the Adeptus Astartes arsenal, not replacements.

Will there be multiple types of Primaris Space Marines?

You bet. So far you’ve seen the Intercessors, the line infantry clad in Mk X armour, but there are plenty more on the way. And likely vehicles too…

Wait, Mk X armour?

Yup, these guys have new armour: combining the best bits of classic Horus Heresy-era plate, with some fancy tech developed more recently.

Can I field a whole army of Primaris Marines?

You totally can. From a background point of view, some Chapters, especially those decimated in the events of the Gathering Storm, now have entire companies of these new warriors. Others have incorporated squads of Primaris Space Marines into existing Battle Companies. And perhaps most excitingly, Guilliman has founded some entirely new Chapters out of these new Space Marines.

I have an <insert favourite Chapter> army. Can I field Primaris Space Marines?

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.

So, Primaris are just better in the game, right? What’s the point of using older Space Marines?

Marine to Marine, they certainly have some advantages over a Tactical Squad, but it comes at a cost. These guys will cost more points than standard Space Marines, so you’ll have fewer of them, and their weapon options will be different. For maximum tactical punch, you’ll want to bring all your Space Marines to the tabletop.

What if I don’t want to use them?

Well, aside from missing out on some cool new models and tactical options for your army, then that’s totally cool. You certainly don’t have to include Primaris Space Marines in your Space Marines army. Though when you see the Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought, you’ll want to. Primaris Dreadnought? Did I write that…? Nah. Moving on.

Are the kits compatible with existing Space Marine kits?

Good Question. There are certainly elements of the existing Space Marines kits that will be cross-compatible, while the new armour mark means that some parts won’t mix as easily. Shoulder pads and helmets are the same scale, and will still work, whereas the legs, torso and arms are different, and not quite as interchangeable. In terms of the Primaris sets themselves, you’ll have loads of fun kit-bashing them.

Can I use these guys alongside my Astra Militarum army?

Yeah you can. These new Space Marines will be available to use alongside all Imperial armies to fill some battlefield roles your army might normally struggle with.

Do the Primaris Space Marines play nice with the Adeptus Custodes?

They sure do. Many of the Emperor’s elite golden guard are accompanying Gulliman and the Primaris Space Marines on the Indomitus Crusade.

But I play Chaos! Where are my super-super-human reinforcements?

First off, that’ll teach you for turning your back on the Emperor. Secondly, did you not see the Death Guard teaser video? The Chaos Gods have not been idle – we guarantee there are some warp-charged hulking warriors on their way for you guys in the not too distant future.

Guilliman be blessed, these guys are rad! When can I get them?

Primaris Space Marines will be available alongside the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. Oh and while we’re on the subject, we’ll be announcing the release date before the end of this month…

Youn wrote:
So... they have have expanded the scale of the marines by 10-20% and are making up some fluff reasoning to the different scale marines.

 Mymearan wrote:
So, let's assume this is going to be a stealth upgrade, where the normal marines slowly get replaced/get no new releases until finally there is nothing but Primaris Marines... how would that affect the other ranges? Eldar for example are supposed to be really tall, but are dwarfed by these new marines. Would we get an across the board upscale of everything bar humans (Genestealer cults and Skitarii have basically nailed the scale already)?

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:

Lord Kragan wrote:

changemod wrote:

 Mymearan wrote:
... at the same time, I'm wondering what I should do with my hundred baby marines... they suddenly don't feel as cool :(

And there you've hit why this is a problem on the head, at least fluff wise (models are fine as far as I can see).

There is no way this can be spun that doesn't cheapen normal space marines, which just went from humanity's finest mass production supersoldiers to "I guess they'll do, they're no Indomitus marine though."

And sure, Custodes already fit the design space of "double space marine", but the distinction there is that they aren't mass produced. These fellows have been shipped out all over the galaxy and even have entire all-Indomitus chapters already.

Greyknights and Deathwatch. That's all that there's to say. Double space marine has been a thing since the last two editions.

Completely different, actually.

I can bet you that soon enough we'll be seeing Primaris Deathwatch and Primaris Grey Knights in an upward scale of powering up...

This is just another step.

 stonehorse wrote:

 xttz wrote:

 stonehorse wrote:
This could lead to civil war in the Imperium, a big split, which I think has been needed for a while. The game has always had too much of a focus on the Imperium, so we end up with Marines vs Marines a lot of the time in games.

So you think the solution to seeing Marines vs Marines a lot of the time is a civil war plot device where... Marines inevitably fight Marines?

By no means is it a solution to just how popular Marines are and sell. However it will be nice to see a game of Marines vs Marines and not have to come up with the notion of it being a training exercise, now it can be a civil war, fuelled by different ideologies, or a way for a secretive chapter to try to keep its secrets.

Sadly I doubt we'll ever see a solution to balance out the sales of the other factions in 40k.

Still as their gene seed is new and improved I wonder what wonderful Tyranids we can get from this. The Hive Guard was speculated as being from Space Marine DNA back in their first appearance in the 3rd edition codex.

Youn wrote:
So... they have have expanded the scale of the marines by 10-20% and are making up some fluff reasoning to the different scale marines.

 Mymearan wrote:
So, let's assume this is going to be a stealth upgrade, where the normal marines slowly get replaced/get no new releases until finally there is nothing but Primaris Marines... how would that affect the other ranges? Eldar for example are supposed to be really tall, but are dwarfed by these new marines. Would we get an across the board upscale of everything bar humans (Genestealer cults and Skitarii have basically nailed the scale already)? Would the Primaris Marines actually replace normal marines Irma would there be some fluff justification for normal marines disappearing eventually? I just can't see how they could do it after introducing these as a new breed of marines.

 Accolade wrote:
This is the beginning of the new world order for marines. Of course they can't invalidate the old marines (can you imagine the backlash that would cause?), but these guys will figure in as the Space Marine army that gets releases from here-on-out. It's like the 32mm bases: obviously GW can't mandate a change like this, but they're hoping that people will naturally gravitate towards the new product and shun the use of the old.

zerosignal wrote:
Meh. Not really happy about this, but hey, it was expected.

Also, Belisarius Cawl is 10k years old. Since when did humans become immortal?

theocracity wrote:

 xttz wrote:

 stonehorse wrote:
This could lead to civil war in the Imperium, a big split, which I think has been needed for a while. The game has always had too much of a focus on the Imperium, so we end up with Marines vs Marines a lot of the time in games.

So you think the solution to seeing Marines vs Marines a lot of the time is a civil war plot device where... Marines inevitably fight Marines?

I think his point was that now there's a fluff justification for something that's already happening. There's no amount of background fluff that would stop people who collect Marines from playing games against other people who collect Marines - now at least they have a slightly better story hook for it.

zerosignal wrote:
Meh. Not really happy about this, but hey, it was expected.

Also, Belisarius Cawl is 10k years old. Since when did humans become immortal?

 Unusual Suspect wrote:
Have they even attempted a fluff justification for why the bolt rifles haven't been produced and distributed to the existing non-Primaris Space Marines, and/or why those same existing non-Primaris Space Marines haven't commandeered those same supplies and just given the ENTIRELY NEW RECRUITS the boltguns while they use the Better-In-Every-Way bolt rifles?

No? Thought not.