The recent changes to the Vigilus Defiant book may have set a clear example for the ultimate fate of the Psychic Awakening 40k rules…
Nearly one year ago Vigilus Defiant was released (on the same week as the 2018 Chapter approved). This was the first book in the series of two that introduced Marneus Calgar’s new Primaris model as well as multiple Imperial formations that offered in-game bonus rules. However, with 40k’s latest 40k’s latest big FAQ, it looks like the book is already being phased out, despite players still using the formations found inside.
Vigilus Defiant Being Phased Out
To fill you in, Vigilus Defiant was the first of two books in the series of Imperium, Chaos, and a few other Xenos races fighting on the planet. We saw formations (which are still used in matched play games), as well as new models, releases for a few factions. However, the Indomitus Crusaders formation along with all of the Intercessor Stratagems and a few relics out of the book have been phased out with the new Space Marine codex supplements. If you bought your Space Marine base codex, you’ll notice that all of the stuff that was phased out of Vigilus Defiant already appeared in there. With that said, some things were tweaked.
The relic that was only obtainable for the specialist detachment, Reliquary of Gathalamor, has been taken away and put into the Space Marine codex with the same name. GW pulled the relic from the specialist detachment to eliminate confusion on how to get it now.
For example, you don’t have to be an Indomitus Crusaders unit to pop the Stratagems like Bolt Storm, Rapid Fire, and Target Sighted. (You used to only be able to select a unit in the formation for the Stratagem). But bottom line, it looks like we’ve seen the beginning processes of the Vigilus Defiant book’s ultimate phasing out.
Looking Ahead to More Codex Support
One of the most popular Specialist Detachments in the book was the Imperial Fists Siegebreaker Cohort. Now that we know they’re in line for a codex supplement, we might see this formation phase-out of the Vigilus Defiant book as well. Once more and more factions get their book, Vigilus Defiant might continue to grow more obsolete. So what does it mean for Psychic Awakening?
The Fate of Vigilus Defiant Sets a Bad Example For Psychic Awakening
From the looks of it, Psychic Awakening might just be a more drawn-out version of the Vigilus series. Every faction is said to have some kind of stake in the expansion and new models seem to be coming to every army that gets the spotlight. We saw the exact same thing for Ultramarines and Chaos in the Vigilus campaign.
If the theme continues on everything covered above, in given time we might see the content from the Phoenix Rising book ported over to the Aeldari 2.0 codexes. These supplements seem inevitable as GW continues to comb over factions that need a rules update (like the recent Chaos 2.0 book, and rumored Daemons 2.0 as well). Of course, the book might not go out of date any time soon, as the Vigilus Ablaze book is still up-to-date. However, it seems like GW is putting a premium on early rules content and then repackaging them later on in a full-price “new” book.
Even the Crimson Fist White Dwarf rules are being repackaged and thrown into the new Imperial Fist codex supplement.
What’s the Solution?
For GW, prices have continually shown to only increase and the turnaround for rules being FAQ’d and content being removed has only decreased. It seems like, as we said before, GW is putting a premium price on early content and repackaging it as another full-price release later on.
To fix the issue, online “working” books might be the exact thing we need. If we pay $30 for a digital copy of rules for a given faction, GW could just update the list as new rules come out. We’re not talking about buying into an online copy of a book. Rather, you pay a certain price to unlock all of the current rules for a faction. If you play Drukhari, the Drukhari list would cost $[insert price here] and we would have all of the current rules across all platforms in one spot.
It could cut down on rules confusion, bloat, and feels-badsies for anyone chasing the dragon buying new content only for it to become obsolete.
What do you think will become of the rules for Psychic Awakening in the months after their full release?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
