Don’t miss the latest confirmed rules on the new stealthy Phobos Vanguard Marines that are coming in Shadowspear built around tactical insertion and recon.
Warhammer Community gave us an early preview of some of the ins and outs of the new units. We’re definitely going to see these guys on the table. Let’s jump into the Primaris found in Shadowspear! It looks like Warhammer Community has confirmed the stat sheets that we saw on these units earlier on.
Infiltrators
Stat sheet spotted on the internet earlier
These guys are looking to be a solid disruption unit that’ll contend with some of the better Troop choices across factions through and through. The only thing that’ll really decide how competitive they are will be their points cost (which look to be around 20 points each currently). But as for wargear, they’ve come decked out.
The Marksman Carbines cut out extra dice rolling by causing an auto wound on a 6+ no matter the toughness of the target. In a pinch, you can chip off a few extra wounds on a tank you really need dead. On top of that, this is the first Infantry unit with smoke grenades that act like smoke launchers on vehicles. If you need these guys to sit on an objective in the open, just pop smoke and hunker down!
Eliminators
You can’t hide from Eliminators. They’ve come armed to the teeth with ammo for every situation. If there’s a character in Terminator armor, just load Executioner rounds. Pesky Company Commander in a building with some mortars? Load Mortis rounds! You see where we’re going with this.
Suppressors
Spotted on the internet earlier
The Suppressors do exactly what their title says. Suppress! They are a very small squad but can deepstrike in and sling a bit of head with some upgraded autocannons. You may do a little bit of damage, but their real value is the ability to cover your melee guys while they charge in. If an enemy model gets killed by one of their shots, they can’t fire overwatch. Imagine popping a few Hand Flamer Acolytes before you charge some assault squads in. That’s about 15-20D6 auto hits you’re finding a way around.
Captain in Phobos Armor
Spotted on the internet earlier on
The Captain, at his core, is just a Captain that can infiltrate. It’s his gear that makes him outstanding! He’s got his own camo cloak for benefits in sticking to cover and his omni scrambler.
This thing paired up with a fanned-out unit of Infiltrators from above will wreck a GSC list. Imagine the anti-deepstrike footprint of a ten-man squad of Infiltrators and this Captain. GSC would be hard pressed to find anywhere outside of their deployment that they could touch down. It’ll become a real mission for GSC players to kill these guys off in the first turn. Or at least keep them corraled into one spot.
Vanguard Librarian
Check out the full break down of Librarian psychic powers from earlier. These powers alone could put Space Marines back on the table.
Warlord Traits Inside Shadowspear
So what if you don’t get to shoot with your (insert any HQ here) right? Just have him add +1 to hit rolls for a huge ten-man unit of Infiltrators and mow down a crowd of Orks. This isn’t a bad Warlord Trait at all, as long as you’ll have a big unit closeby to reap max benefits from the rule.
Looking at the Princeps of Deceit Warlord Trait, you essentially get to redeploy three units. So let’s think about this. You can put three infiltrating units as far up the board as you can to force your enemy to react by putting some Orks up front (or something to that extent). Then when the game starts, redeploy all three of those infiltrating units back into the safety of your lines. You can move that 12″ anti-deepstrike bubble from the middle of the battlefield all the way back to your edge of the table protecting your tank’s butts. Pretty powerful!
All in all, we feel that this is another huge step towards making Space Marines more competitive. We all know they need it bad. They don’t even remotely match up to the lore on the tabletop and it’s a bit depressing as a Space Marine player at this point in time. However, things are looking up as we’re getting a bunch of new psychic powers, models, and Warlord Traits.
What will you be testing out of Shadowspear first? Which Psychic powers are you going to go with? Will you be bringing a massive Battalion of Infiltrators? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
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.
