Big changes may be on the way for Primaris and Firstborn Space Marines in general if these new rumors are to be belived.
As with all rumors, before we start, they are rumors! So that means to take these with as much salt as you need but do seem to be from a solid source according to Valrak (that has been reliable in the past). Also, if you are tired of seeing new Space Marines models (or rumors about them), you may want to stop reading here, as these are pretty focused on new miniatures in general.
But hey, at least we just got some new Eldar and Chaos Space Marines are dropping soon so there is that!
Let’s take a look at what rumors have been spotted so far and then jump into the latest Space Marines codex 2.0 rumors.
RUMORS: New Space Marines 2.0 Release November 3rd, 2022
So, let’s start by looking back at the last 2.0 Space Marines Release:
Shadowspear (with a ton of new marines) was revealed back in 2019 at LVO. If you look at the timeline (every three years) for how often they like to release new editions, this is almost perfect with the timing for where they are now compared to then (with a slight COVID delay).
So, it would make sense now (and from the rumors we have heard) that at LVO this year, we could see a new preview for Space Marines 2.0 with a big box of new marines, and then soon after, we could start to see the supplements to upgrade all the chapters.
This also makes sense, as most recent rumors have pointed to their release after World Eaters, and we know they are in line for a book very soon.
Below is the release schedule for all the 2.0 supplements for 8th edition. As you can see, they all came out within less than a year from the release of 9th Edition 40k.
As a matter of fact, the 9th Edition Space Marine codex was released just 11 months after the 2.0 version of 8th Edition!
- Space Marines (2nd Edition) August 2019
- Ultramarines (Space Marines) August 2019
- White Scars (Space Marines) August 2019
- Iron Hands (Space Marines) September 2019
- Ravenguard (Space Marines) September 2019
- Imperial Fists (Space Marines) October 2019
- Salamanders (Space Marines) October 2019
If we see a new “Shadowspear-style” big box previewed at LVO, you can probably expect supplements very soon after and possibly even a split of First Born and Primaris into different armies (as other rumors have suggested).
However, take this set of rumors with a big grain of salt, like really big. We have also heard that each chapter this time may only get an Army of Renown army list and be extremely streamlined. We’re not so sure about that yet, but it is what we’ve heard.
In some ways, it makes sense as then they could easily throw a new book out right at 10th, and you could play with those armies of renown until each chapter gets their full supplement book later on in 10th.
So, if you start to see Space Marines 2.0, expect 10th edition of Warhammer 40k soon.
Is the New Dataslate Telling?
Coming from Warhammer Community, they had this to say about Imperial Guard:
We’ve deliberately not made any further changes to the Astra Militarum, as their new codex will soon supersede them. Guard generals will no doubt be pleased to see a number of the Dataslate amendments incorporated into their upcoming book.
So, while Space Marines did receive something in terms of rules, it was simply a single secondary, which honestly isn’t really enough to boost them.
This leads us to believe that maybe the reason they didn’t go heavy for them is that, in a few months, we could have a new codex book! Which would basically make the dataslate invalid.
This is more conjecture, but GW generally likes to keep Space Marines in the middle ground for balance. This really didn’t do anything for that, so maybe it’s because we’re seeing a new codex soon anyways that will help with the issue.
RUMORS: New Primaris Space Marines Rules & Minis
We’ve also heard a ton of other rumors lately as well for the upcoming Space Marines 2.0 release headed into 10th Edition.
The rumors come from Valrak, and we’ll summarize them here for you.
First up, it looks like they will be doing all new supplements for many of the “Codex Space Marines chapters.” This means things like Imperial Fists, Ultramarines, etc.… will all be getting their own new codex supplement books (which could just be armies of renown). This also means we could see a huge swath of new chapter-specific models. Just think about how they did with the Salamanders, Fists, Raven Guard, etc., around the end of 8th Edition.
This doesn’t mean that is guaranteed, but you know GW doesn’t like to release a new codex book without at least one new model.
Next up, Primaris will get a new long-range fire support unit with something similar to missile launchers. We originally thought this weapon from a Rumor Engine would go on a tank, but now it looks possible for this very rumor. While it looks sort of big and bulky, it definitely looks like a missile launcher, and Primaris are quite big and known for having huge weapons.
Supposedly a new Heavy Primaris Dreadnought will be on the way with serious close-combat weapons and Multi Meltas. While we haven’t seen any rumor engines about this, it would make sense to continue buffing the line of Primaris Dreads. With the recent release of the Gravis Captain (above) and now the new Primaris Ancient, we don’t expect the Space Marine releases to stop any time soon
RUMORS: New Space Marines Codex 2.0 Coming Soon?
The rumors for Auspex are from back in February, but almost every other rumor from the video has come true so that just gives more validity to the possibility of the new codex.
First up and again, it looks like Space Marines will grab a whole host of supplements. This also makes sense in the fact that they have been sort of codex creeping as 9th has grown.
This would be their first rework of a 9th edition codex, so it will be quite interesting to see how GW goes with this one. As we showed above, GW doesn’t like to put out anything without new minis, so we have the rumors above, but they could always just make new lieutenants!
Then, when you think about that giant weapon from above, it could very well be something that barrages the enemy for sure, or perhaps it’s something for the Squats, and all of this is just wish listing at this point…
RUMORS: Codex Space Marines 2.0 & Primaris Changes
The latest word on the street from various industry insiders is that Space Marine codex 2.0 is coming early next year.
- There will also be Chapter supplements released in the groupings they were playtested
- The points will be more along the lines of 8th edition and repeatedly described as very high costing.
- Primaris and Firstborn datasheets will become unified and can be played mix and matched – wild if true.
- New movement privileges for non-infantry models.
Lots to digest here for sure, as firstborn and Primaris in the same units could be pretty wild if that actually pans out. It also sounds like all the chapter supplements may be released in waves as well this fall too, which sorta makes sense with all the new model rumors out there.
10th Edition Warhammer 40k Starter Set & Release Rumors
New rumors for 10th Edition 40k were spotted on Reddit that seem to both confirm and deny previous rumors for Space Marines, World Eaters and more…
Burner account
Space Marines 2.0 codex in 2023
– adds jump assault infantry in a shadowspear style release with World Eaters
– “primaris” terminators held back for 10th edition
10th Ed starters feature Blood Angels and Tyranids:
– new “primaris” terminators; jump death company; captain; sanguinary priest
– broodlord, new genestealers, macrofex, hypergants, zoanthrope HQ
Blood Angels faction release:
– Sanguinor (Primarch / avatar of sanguinius), lots of cherubs
– Dante (model has been ready since 2019)
– Death Company chaplain
– Furioso Redemptor
– Sanguinary guard
– Upgrade sprue
Tyranids:
– Macrofex
– Old One Eye (macrofex size)
– Hypergant swarms (105mm base)
– New genestealers
– New hormaguants
The big takeaway here is that it seems that a major Space Marines release may have been pushed back to early 2023 from previous rumors of fall of 2022. Perhaps the smaller chapter supplements could release first in the fall to drum up hype, then the main 2.0 book could drop along with the rumored new model releases we have seen some images for already.
A new starter pitting Blood Angels vs. Tyranids again, like the 2014 shield of Baal Deathstorm set (25 miniatures for $125), would be pretty cool to see. Plus, we’re sure Tyranids players would gobble up new Genestealer models as well.
What are your thoughts on a Space Marines 2.0 codex release? Would you like to see it before or after a new edition?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
