May the best Angel win! Which primarch model is better, Sanguinius or The Lion, in terms of composition, rules and just sheer badassness?
Keep in mind that these Primarchs are sticking to the 30k universe right now. In the Horus Heresy timeline, everyone is still alive and the brothers are in a galaxy-wide barfight. GW is usually really slow to put new Primarchs into the game.
Sanguinius Vs. Lion El’Jonson Primarch Models
However, in the past year, we’ll have gotten two Primarchs added. Much Excite! We’ll be comparing the two newest brothers to hit the game. Check out the two latest Primarchs for the era!
In case you missed the previews, we definitely recommend you check them out. Now looking at the model a second time, he’s got some decent customization and a WAY more dynamic pose than some Primarchs.
We’re looking at you, Dorn…
We’ll save Dorn for a later time, however. Right now, we’ll be comparing Sanguinius (the latest Primarch model to drop) with The Lion.
The Specs on Sanguinius
So the new Sangunius model is sick. He’s got probably the most dynamic pose out of all the other Primarchs. Russ and Magnus are a close second. But using angel wings to descend on a Daemon is pretty dynamic so he takes the cake. Now, Sanguinius also has a little bit of customization as well.
He’s got two weapon options; a throwable spear or his Sword Encarmine.
- The Sword Encarmine: Gives him +1 strength, can reroll failed wounds and gives him extra attacks if he’s outnumbered.
- The Spear of Telesto: gives him +3 strength on the charge, the instant death rule. Once per game, he can throw the spear as a shooting attack and then draw the Moonsilver blade.
Unlike The new Lion El’Jonson model, Sanguinius is also stuck with his angelic hair flapping in the wind.
Lion El’Jonson Also Has Two Wargear options & More
So far, we’ve seen Lion El’Jonson’s model in two ways. You can give him his helmet or keep him bare-headed. You can also give him the Lion Sword or the Wolf Blade, depending on what role you want him to play in your games.
Now let’s look at the Lion’s stats. As you’d expect, he’s in-line with all of his other Primarch bros. Being WS 8, he’s obviously going to be a melee powerhouse. And with a base S7 combined with his wargear, he’ll be wounding most things on 2’s and 3’s. Plus, with Initiative 7 you can almost guarantee he’ll be smacking first.
When you really piss the Lion off, he puts a little pep in his step and swings harder and harder. The best way to kill him off is to dedicate enough firepower in one go to put him down in a phase. That way, he can’t get up to 7 attacks base.
Being that the Lion goes and hunts huge creatures for funsies, he also knows where to hit his target in melee. An Absolute Focus is a really sweet rule that caps his hitting out at a 4+. Pretty useful against debuffs/melee Primarchs.
The Lion Sword is what you want if you’ll be going against T4 elites like Terminators/Artificer-geared dudes. AP 1 will cut through them like butter through a hot knife. Especially when you look at rules like Fleshbane. The only “weakness” to the weapon is that doesn’t have any bonus Strength to offer.
The Wolf Blade on the other hand, is a brutal alternative that’s just as much of a maul as it is a sword. With +3 Strength, you’ll be swinging at Strength 10 and AP 2. Plus, due to the fact that people are getting cleaved in half and watching their brother’s organs spew out through the teeth of the blade, they scurred. Your opponents will be forced to roll another dice for morale and keep the highest.
We also got this snippet from WHC, giving us some clues as to what the rest of his wargear will look like.
The rest of the Lion’s equipment bolsters his prowess. The Leonine Panoply gives him a 2+ save and a 4+ invulnerable save, which can be re-rolled once per turn. For shooting, the Fusil Actinaeus is an archaic plasma weapon that can render enemies blind – if they survive its blistering salvo.
GW, Please Don’t Do The Lion Like You Did Sanguinius
If you remember, once Sanguinius’ time came to be released, GW announced that his scenic base would be a limited release and charged upwards of $200 for the kit. If you didn’t want to spend that much right away or missed out on the opportunity, your only option of getting Sanguinius now is on his smaller base.
Which, without the Daemon and spikes added to the model, Sanguinius looks like he’s just sitting on a rock and trying to balance.
The Lion’s scenic base is pretty sweet. He’s about to take a little off the top of a Night Lord who thinks a Volkite pistol will solve all his problems. Here’s to hoping that this scenic base won’t be a limited release and Dark Angels fans can grab everything without any restrictions.
After comparing Lion El’Jonson to Sanguinius, are you thinking GW will still be stingy with the scenic base?
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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.
