Here are a ton of new Warhammer 40k rules for the new Space Marines Desolation Squad, along with the rumors we have seen so far.
With the new box on the way, you know GW would drop some rules before you could order the new minis! There are two variants of weaponry (well, three if you add the sergeant’s option) to choose from, and they showed what all three can do.
GW Reveals New Space Marines Desolation Squad Rules!
As we said, we’ve seen a lot of rumors about them, so we’ll take a look at the rumors and compare them. These confirmed rules come from this Warhammer Community post.
Traditional missile launchers – such as those available to the Astra Militarum – trade raw power for flexibility, swapping out frag and krak payloads mid-battle. The armourers of the Indomitus Crusade will brook no such compromise, so these new rocket weapons are specialised to fire one of two warheads, chosen when building your army.
The models have received some flak (get it) online, but they are Primaris with giant rockets!
More reliable, more powerful, and with an effective range that exceeds even a sniper rifle, the superfrag rocket launcher is the ultimate rebuttal to hordes of unwashed heretics and slavering aliens. There’s nothing quite like reducing the enemy’s battleline to a smouldering crater with one pull of a trigger.
With a minimum of 4 shots and AP1, this should be decent for taking out squads of weaker troops. Especially considering you would have a minimum of 20 shots from a squad of 5, they can really do some damage.
On the other hand, when your foe rumbles toward you with a spearhead of hulking behemoths, a volley from a superkrak rocket launcher will punch cleanly through any armoured shell – be it metal or chitin.
Well, you can also go the other way and just get five shots from the squad that will dish out an insane number of wounds at long range. But it doesn’t stop here, as each weapon also has an underslung option.
Whichever means of destruction you choose, Desolation Marines are all packing a little something extra under the barrel. The belt-fed castellan launcher saturates the sky with guided bomblets that rain down on the enemy wherever they hide. It’s perfect for flushing out cowardly targets – and it fires separately from your main rockets, allowing you to pick and choose your victims.
What’s more, the Desolation Sergeant can pair it with a vengor launcher for maximum indirect fire, wiping out whole squads before they ever come into view. And all while guiding the squad’s aim through his signum targeting system – now that’s multi-tasking!
First, the Vengor Launcher at Heavy D6, S6, and D2, is very versatile and can take out two wound models decently. Then, the Castellan Launcher also doesn’t need LoS, and every weapon has one. So, if you pick the heavy option, you will still have the ability to shoot a bunch of shots at smaller targets.
Space Marines Desolator Squad Rumors
These Primaris Desolators rumors come from Auspex Tactics and are sourced from Valrak and Tactical Tortoise by way of supposed playtest rules.
Well, from the looks of it, these are pretty close! The names aren’t exact, and they seemed to have gotten the AP wrong on the Castellan Launcher (or GW might have upped the power after more testing).
If you want to see all the rules from these leaks, click here to check those out, as they should be pretty close! Or check out the latest Warhammer 40k rumors for the rest of the 9th and even 10th Edition, new releases, and more!
Here’s the most up-to-date list of new Games Workshop bits from preview models that we should watch out for. Click on the gallery above to see dozens of Rumor Engines with new models still to be revealed!
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What do you think about the new rules for the Desolator Squad? Will you be picking them up?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
