After weeks of removing the word Primaris from their previews, GW went out of its way to put them back into Warhammer 40k 10th Edition.
Nearly six years have passed since GW started a massive rebranding back in 8th Edition for Space Marines, and now it seems like they might be coming full circle with 10th. As Space Marines are the biggest-selling models of all time for GW, they must also keep them fresh, and for a few weeks, GW never once mentioned the word Primaris (actually, they mentioned it once about size, saying something was NOT Primaris).
However, in the past four rules articles, they mention Primaris a whole bunch of times, and maybe they aren’t actually rebranding once again. Either way, they don’t seem to want Primaris to die after a brief but noticeable absence.
Here are the quick links to the latest for 10th Edition Warhammer 40k and the full articles below!
- Warhammer 40k New 10th Edition Release Guide: LATEST
- New 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Starter Set
- What Will Happen To Codex Books in 10th Edition
- All the Latest 10th Edition Rules Changes
- How to Build Army Lists in 10th Edition Warhammer 40k
GW Breaks Their Necks Putting Primaris Back in Warhammer 40k 10th Edition
Let’s start with the absence of the word until the last few articles. If you look through all the 10th edition preview articles starting with Adepticon, strangely, they never actually mention the word Primaris once (actually, they said in reference to the Terminators’ size that they are “not Primaris” but that’s it.)
They didn’t even mention it for their Intercessor Datasheet preview or the badass new lieutenant model! They even went out of their way not to say Primaris ever on the datasheets. However, after about a month, they brought it back.
Is it a lack of direction, miscommunication, or just pure speculation by the community? Either way, you can’t expect to omit something for so long and for it to go unnoticed, and its interesting to see them bring it back so strongly.
Take this Primaris Lieutenant. The first thing to notice is the Leader ability, which unlocks the ability to join a squad. This is done before deployment, at the same time as transports are allocated and units are placed in Reserve – the Leader becomes a permanent member of that unit for the whole battle.
In this article, they put it in the picture (unlike they did with the previous articles), said it in the wording, and a few other places. So, this seems strange after a long absence; they bring it back basically everywhere.
Maybe they just forgot to put it in, or maybe they were changing their publishing team; we really don’t know at this point.
All eyes may be on the Dark Angels as they track down Vashtorr for a final confrontation, but another legendary hero of the Imperium descends this week – Commander Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. He’s the Lord Regent of Imperium Nihilus, the saviour of Baal, and possibly the oldest Space Marine alive,* and now he’s got a fresh new Primaris bod to keep his axe arm swinging.
Then, they even mention it again for Dante and him crossing the Primaris Rubicon. As we said, it’s just odd to leave out something like Primaris for anything pertaining to 10th Edition, then just bring it back in nearly every article.
Who knows, maybe this is setting up for a more significant shift and rebranding in Marines, or maybe the community and content creators like us just read into it too far.
Get In Losers We Have Purging To Do
When the transport rules were previewed, Games Workshop bent over backward to point out that Primaris can ride in Drop Pods again too.
Not only that but they said:
Minus a couple of exceptions,* Space Marine transports no longer care whether a Primaris unit is riding in the back or not.
* The Rhino, Razorback, and Impulsor are still specialised for certain squad types, and many larger models like Terminators and Gravis-armoured Space Marines still have their own restrictions.
Then in a tweet, they dropped this image of Primaris Space Marines running out of a Landraider as well
Looks like the Techmarines have finally put new seats in the Land Raider! Which variant will you be filling with Primaris Space Marines?
So overall, it looks like Marines are heading towards just being all “Space Marines,” but primaris are still a designation that matters, and perhaps more importantly for hobbyists, both firstborn and their vehicles are still relevant!
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What do you think about them leaving Primaris out and then bringing it back in full force?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
