Space Marines Armageddon Datasheets Drop With 2-Damage Power Swords, Lethal Hits on the Charge

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The new Space Marines Armageddon datasheets dropped for every unit in the launch box, and Vanguard Veterans finally get their 2-damage power swords.

Warhammer Community revealed the full Space Marine rules for the Armageddon box two days before pre-orders open Saturday, and the new rules might just entice more people into grabbing the $295 launch set.

The box itself has 23 new Space Marine minis with six new datasheets (including the Eradicators and Land Speeder, which we already saw).

If you play Space Marines and especially if you build around the jump-pack assault wing, this is the Warhammer 40k 11th Edition reveal to pay attention to. 

Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs Datasheet

The Vanguard Veteran Squad with Jump Packs leads the assault wing of the box, and the datasheet treats them like an elite jump infantry squad instead of just points filler. Plus, with movement 12″, Toughness 4, a 3+ save, and Deep Strike, means you can park the squad wherever the screening is thin and hit them where it hurts the most.

• Master-crafted power weapons at 2 Damage: every model in the unit, sergeant included, runs A3 WS3+ S5 AP-2 D2 in melee. Multi-damage anti-elite into Custodes, Terminators, Bladeguard, and most character bodyguards.
• Vanguard Assault on the charge: if the unit makes a charge move, every melee weapon has [Lethal Hits]. Stack that with a Chaplain with Jump Pack for +1 to wound, and you wound 2+ on most targets with auto-wound 6s baked in.
• Plasma pistol or heavy bolt pistols: one Veteran can swap to a plasma pistol (12″ AD3 S7 AP-2 D1 standard, or A1 S8 AP-3 D2 on supercharge) while the rest run heavy bolt pistols (18″ A1 S4 AP-1 D1). Pre-charge volley with a real pre-melee profile.

With a five-model squad rocking a 12″ move with Fly and 2 wounds per model, you have a serious hammer unit to smash the enemy, and the only thing the unit gives up is OC1 per model. That’s the assault-character loadout that many competitive lists have been asking for since the 10e codex flattened the role.

Chaplain with Jump Pack Datasheet

The Chaplain with Jump Pack is the obvious character to lead the Vanguard into battle, and the datasheet pulls double duty as the leader for Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs, too. With Deep Strike, Movement 12″, Toughness 4, a 3+/4+ invuln, and 4 wounds on a character is even more durable than the previous Phobos-era jump leaders.

• Litany of Hate on melee: every melee attack from the unit gets +1 to wound rolls. The Vanguard Veterans’ S5 master-crafted weapons go from wounding T4 on 3+ to 2+, and the Chaplain’s own Crozius arcanum at A5 WS2+ S6 AP-1 D2 wounds T8 monsters on 4s instead of 5s.
• Exhortation of Rage in the Fight phase: pick an engaged enemy unit and roll a D6. On a 4-5 the unit eats D3 mortal wounds; on a 6 it eats a flat 3. Free chip damage that hits before you even resolve the swing.
• Deep Strike + Absolvor bolt pistol: 18″ A1 S5 AP-1 D2 close-quarters profile gives him a real pre-charge ranged hit on the deepstrike turn, not just the 12″ bolt pistol the rest of the codex carries.

Overall, a Jump Pack Chaplain leading five Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs lands as a 6-body, 14-wound deepstrike package that wounds Custodes Guard on 3s and threatens three mortal wounds too.

Captain with Relic Shield Datasheet

The Captain with Relic Shield is honestly the most generic character in the box, with six wounds on a 3+/4+ invuln, Leadership 5+ (with the +1 from his own profile), and the widest attach list of any Marine character in this release. It’s kinda wild, but he attaches to the entire Tacticus list (Assault Intercessors, Bladeguard, Company Heroes, Hellblasters, Infernus, Intercessors, Sternguard, Tactical).

• Master-crafted power weapon at A6 WS2+ S5 AP-2 D2: a baseline melee profile that already swings six 2+ attacks at 2 damage each. Average 5 hits, 4 wounds against T4; that’s eight damage with no buffs.
• Finest Hour, once per battle: in the Fight phase, when he’s selected to fight, his melee weapon gets +3 Attacks and [Devastating Wounds] until the end of the phase. Nine WS2+ S5 AP-2 attacks with auto-wound on the 6s.
• Rites of Battle for CP discount: once per battle round, when a stratagem targets the unit he’s attached to, reduce its cost by 1 CP. Functionally, a 1 CP discount on whichever defensive stratagem the matchup demands every battle round.

The Captain with Relic Shield is the list’s easy slot in character, and the Finest Hour ability is where his points pay for themselves in one big swing.

Librarian Datasheet

The Librarian brings the psychic support, and he’s built to make basic Intercessors a problem to clear off an objective. He’s rocking Movement 6, Toughness 4, 3+/4+ invuln, 4 wounds, and the only Marine character in this drop with [Psychic].

• Smite, two profiles: the witchfire profile is 24″ AD6 BS3+ S5 AP-1 DD3 [Psychic]; the focused witchfire profile pushes to S6 AP-2 DD3 with [Devastating Wounds] and [Hazardous]. The focused profile turns the Librarian into a 24″ mortal-wound threat against anything T6 or below.
• Force weapon at A4 WS3+ S6 AP-1 DD3: melee profile with [Psychic] tags every swing for the Devastating Wounds and Mortal Wounds interactions that the new Smite already keys into.
• Psychic Hood + Mental Fortress: Feel No Pain 4+ against every psychic attack and ability targeting the unit, plus a baseline 4+ invuln. Eldar, Thousand Sons, and Tyranids that lean on Smite-class output get bricked.

Plus, he attaches to the same eight Tacticus units the Captain does, which means a single Intercessor squad can run either a Captain for melee burst or a Librarian for ranged mortal-wound output without changing the rest of the list.

Ancient Datasheet

The Ancient is the most obvious support character, and the datasheet hands Marines their best resilience they have had in recent memory. Plus, he also has a Bolt pistol, a Bolt rifle, a close-combat weapon, 4 wounds, a 3+ save, and a banner that does real work on objectives.

• Relic Banner gives +1 OC: the entire attached unit gets +1 Objective Control while he’s alive. A 10-strong Intercessor squad jumps to OC3 per model, OC30 on the objective.
• Unbreakable Resolve for FNP 4+: while the Ancient is within range of an objective or within 6″ of the center of the battlefield, the unit gets Feel No Pain 4+. Combined with T4, Sv3+, and W2 Intercessors, that’s the most durable mid-board scoring unit Tacticus has fielded since 9e.
• Support attach list, eight Tacticus units: Assault Intercessors, Desolation, Devastator, Hellblaster, Infernus, Intercessor, Sternguard, Tactical. Anywhere a body holds the line, the banner makes it a problem to push off.

The Ancient is the unit you bring when the game plan is “I am sitting on this objective, and you’re going to spend more than you can afford to remove me.”

Intercessor Squad Datasheet

The Intercessor Squad refresh gives your basic Marines a pretty nice upgrade, and it bumps the basic battleline up a real tier. A 10-model squad on Toughness 4, 2 wounds, OC2, and a bolt rifle on every body is already the Tacticus floor, but their new rules stack even more on top.

• Hail of Bolts in Shooting: when the unit is selected to shoot, pick one visible enemy unit. Every bolt rifle that targets that unit gets +2 Attacks. Eighteen S4 AP-1 D1 [Assault, Heavy] shots into one target, before any buffs.
• Objective Secured plus grenade launcher option: one Intercessor swaps to a grenade launcher (24″ AD3 S4 frag, or 24″ A1 S9 AP-2 DD3 krak). Anti-tank or anti-horde on a battleline body.
• Chainsword on the sergeant: A5 WS3+ S4 AP-1 D1 swing instead of A3 close-combat, so the sergeant actually pulls real weight on the consolidate move.

Plus, if you stack an Ancient on the squad for OC3 and FNP 4+, or a Librarian for ranged mortal wounds, or a Captain for the Finest Hour burst, and the same 10 bodies become whichever problem the matchup wants them to be.

Eradicators with Heavy Bolters Datasheet

The new Eradicators with Heavy Bolters are also in the Armageddon box, with a fully reworked datasheet, and we’ve already broken down the whole card in a dedicated post.

The headline: heavy bolters with Blast 1 into anything that isn’t a Vehicle or Monster, Overlapping Detonations naming a target every turn, and the same Gravis chassis that’s been carrying the kit since 9e. For the full rules and more, see our breakdown of the new Eradicators with heavy bolters rules.

Land Speeder Datasheet

The updated Land Speeder fills the vehicle slot for the Space Marine side, and the new datasheet card had its own reveal already. The short version: Movement 14, Purgation Run for the shoot-and-scoot, an updated FLY keyword that subtracts a flat 2″ from vertical instead of paying the full height. Plus, there is a new Skystrike detachment built around the Speeder keyword.

See our breakdown of the new Land Speeder rules with the 14″ move here.

Final Thoughts on the Space Marines Armageddon Datasheets

The next big question is whether GW is going to let the Vanguard Veterans keep their D2 Power Swords, or whether they’ll see a NERF before the models ever hit the tabletop. Tournaments and FAQs might change things a lot, but for now, the Veterans are looking super strong, 

The bigger question is whether the Faction Pack release later this summer keeps the assault-character stack on Vanguard Veterans the way the Armageddon cards have written it, or trims the 2-damage power swords back to where they were in 10e.

Two months of new pre-orders, tournament shakedowns, and FAQ cycles will tell us if GW means what they say or if this is a launch-window honeymoon.

Watch for the full Armageddon release launch wave and the new Space Marines detachments rules over the next few weeks to see how the rest of the box will slot into competitive play.

🔗 Related Reads:

• New Eradicators with Heavy Bolters Rules: Overlapping Detonations Hits Hard
• New Land Speeder Rules: 14″ Move, Purgation Run + Updated FLY in 11th Edition
• Warhammer 40k Armageddon Starter Set: Contents & Value Review
• New 11th Edition Space Marines Detachments Drop Big Buffs For Every Major Chapter
• Armageddon Box Set Pre-Order Pricing and Lineup Revealed
• New 11th Edition Space Marines Coming in the Armageddon Box
• Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Rules: Big Reveals, Rumors + Predictions

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