Heres all the new Stratagem and relics for Space Marines, plus the new Chaos Legion rules for Psychic Awakening’s Faith & Fury 40k update!
We knew that Space Marine’s and Chaos were getting support, but this is a cool new way to update them!
Coming from Glacial Geek on Youtube, we’ve got a closer look at the Space Marine rules from Psychic Awakening: Faith & Fury. Don’t miss what they’re getting and let us know of any crazy combos you see.
Lore & Table of Contents
Starting off with more clues to the lore advancement, a heretic named Thaneus (who was executed) gave some unpopular opinions about the human race. He then mentions Daemons coming out of the Cicatrix Maledictum in untold numbers that will essentially devour everything in existence. To sum it all up, these were the words that got him killed with the Ordo Hereticus stamp of approval on the bottom of the page.
We had also heard rumors that a Chaos Daemon 2.0 codex was on the horizon now as well, which may make sense in the near future from this missive…
It’s always nice to see the lore move forward. But it looks like things haven’t gotten any better since we saw the Aeldari chime in with the first Psychic Awakening book.
Moving to the Table of Contents, it looks like generic Space marine support is on its way to Librarians, Apothecaries, Ancients, and Champions. We heard rumors about upgrades coming to these battlefield roles earlier (above) as well.
Faith & Fury Space Marine New Chapter Rules
Moving into the Loyalist Astartes realm, this list is more focused on the individual characters across the entire faction.
Space Marine Chaplain Rules
We will be able to spend an extra CP to beef up some of our characters. For the Master of Sanctity, this stratagem lets our Chaplain know an additional litany, Just keep in mind that he’ll also have a big target on his back and this Strat is only usable once per battle. This also gives them access to the warlord traits below if they are our warlord.
These two warlord traits are nothing to scoff at, giving you better chances to get a litany inspired, or +3″ to their auras.
Onto the relics for Masters of Sanctity. Sacrosanct Rosarius is pretty nuts as it gives your chaplain a 3+ invulnerable save. Considering how much they might be targetted due to their shiny new abilities this shouldn’t be taken lightly.
While the Iron Hands litany was previewed, GW also made a statement to the Codex Supplements that came out this year:
It’s been a great year for anyone who plays Ultramarines, White Scars, Iron Hands, Raven Guard, Imperial Fists or Salamanders with the release of their codex supplements* and new models. It’s about to get even better for these First Founding Chapters as Faith & Fury brings them each a new litany for their Chaplains to use.
Speaking of which here they all are! Most notable is probably White Scars with rerolling melee wound rolls 6″ around them and Salamanders allowing their units within 6″ to perform Heroic Intervention as if they were characters. Definitely some shenanigans to give your opponents some headaches with that one.
If you decide to make a Chaplain a Master of Sanctity from a new Stratagem found in the book, this will also unlock a new tree of relics. One of the ones previewed is a chunky 3++ invuln. This looks to be a relic for any Master of Sanctity from any Chapter.
Faith & Fury Space Marine Librarian Rules
Just like the others Librarians also have a stratagem to boost them up a bit. If you use this the librarian gets one additional psychic power and an extra deny. You have to use this at the start of the battle, and can only upgrade one librarian to chief librarian.
As for more Warlord Traits coming to the Astartes, High Scholar of the Librarius can give Librarians access to powers in a different tree as well! That means Phobos Librarians will be able to make a unit of Infiltrators reroll all their hits and then Shadowstep away if they’re Raven Guard, for example.
Their other warlord trait is a simple plus one to the first psychic test each phase.
If you want a safety net over your entire army, you can give a Chief Librarian the Neural Shroud. This is a relic that can only go on an upgraded Librarian from the looks of it. However, you’ll be able to add 12″ to your +1 to deny rule. On top of that, a Chief Librarian allows you to deny an additional psychic power in each phase.
The other relic option for librarians is a Force Sword replacement, besides upgrade stats, it also gives d3 mortal wounds to the target on unmodified 6s to wound.
Faith & Fury Space Marine Techmarines Rules
Techmarines can start healing a whole thunder hammer’s worth of damage each time they repair a vehicle. If you listen closely, you can hear the cheers of countless Iron Hands players across the world.
Masters of the forge also have two warlord traits, adding 1 to nearby vehicle attacks, or adding 1 to strength and attacks of nearby dreadnoughts.
Master of the Forge is the obviously fitting title of a Techmarine. You can also give them the Endourant Protector relic to give them +1 toughness and give them a 4++ invuln save. That’s decent if you’re someone who runs a ton of vehicles and plays aggressively with Techmarines. It might not be worth it if you prefer keeping them back with Thunderfire Cannons.
The other relic is a Power Axe replacement that adds mortal wounds to failed saves. If you want your Techmarine to have some bite this is definitely a good option.
Faith & Fury Space Marine Apothecary Rules
The Apothecaries can also become a Chief apothecary with a similar stratagem to the others. Once again, only one can be upgraded and it has to be at the beginning. The bonus for the chief is that you can reroll dice when determining is a destroyed model is returned when he is giving medical attention to a unit.
Apothecaries are getting some love with a new Warlord Trait specially designed for them. Selfless Healer can heal twice in a turn. Even if you rolled poor and start collecting someone’s gene-seed. You still get another shot at bringing another person back.
The other warlord trait Apothecaries can take is a 6″ 6 up Feel No Pain for bikers and infantry units around the Apothecary. If they have the Flesh is Weak tactic, then the Feel No Pain is on a 5+.
The relics available to Apothecaries are a Bolt Pistol replacement that offers upgraded stats and the ability to have D6 damage instead against vehicles and monsters. The other relic is a 5+ invulnerable save to the Apothecary and units within 1″ of it.
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Faith & Fury Space Marine Ancients Rules
Following the same rules as before you can upgrade an Ancient. They gain Chapter Banner which lets all chapter units get the banner effect within a 9″ bubble instead of 6″.
The two traits for Ancients offer a 3″ bubble that lets Infantry, Bikers, and Dreadnoughts perform Heroic Intervention as if they were characters and the other gives Infantry the Defenders of Humanity ability while within 3″ of the Ancient, if they already have the ability then they count for an additional unit when taking objectives.
Ancients are getting some more support with another relic banner. This gives a 2+ BS and WS aura. plain and simple. Absolutely brutal if you like massing units around your banner-wielder.
The other relic is only for a model with the Astartes Banner ability. The model gains Pennant of the Fallen, model that attack with melee because of this model Astartes Banner ability can make two attacks instead of one.
Support Coming to Chapter Champions
Company Champions can be boosted into Chapter Champions giving them a bonus Attack and Leadership, which is already nice. However, whenever they get into melee, they’ll always be a flat -1 to hit for Skillful Parry. These guys might be mini Smash Captains that will be able to bully smaller units off of objectives by themselves.
The Champions get two traits, Master Duellist give their melee weapon attack against a warlord generate one mortal wound if they have a hit roll of one then roll a 4+, Martial Exemplar offers friendly units within 6″ re-roll charge rolls.
Lastly, they also get two relic options. The first is a master-crafted power sword replacement that offers upgraded stats, and the second gives a 2+ save and a 4+ invulnerable save to the Champion.
Which Loyalist upgraded character do you think will be the strongest in the meta?
Heretic Astartes Daemon Weapons
Daemon Weapons are going to be a whole list of relic weapons given to the Heretic Astartes by the dark gods. They’ll all give something different, but also come with the Daemon Weapon rule.
This rule looks to be just the bad half of Abaddon’s named Daemon sword. There’s always a 1/6 chance that you won’t get to fight with the weapon.
GW gave us an early look at the Khornate weapon, Zaall. This sword gets beefed up depending on how well you roll for the Daemon Weapon rule from above. If you roll a 5+ on your dice, you’ll also be adding +5 to the strength of the weapon at -5 AP and two damage flat.
Note it’s not Death Guard, this relic however can only go to a Nurgle model using a power fist. However, it slaps like a thunder hammer and a 2+ always counts as a successful wound! Talk about a bad touch.
There is also a relic for Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch offers a power sword replacement that offers upgrades stats and when resolving attacks the target cannot make invulnerable saves. Slaanesh offers dual lightning claw and malefic talon replacements, upgraded stats and the ability to re-roll wounds rolls plus a number of extra attacks equal to the Daemon Weapon roll made earlier that phase.
There is also a generic Daemon Weapon anyone can take. This one is an axe replacement, a new stat line plus the ability to inflict a mortal wound in addition with an unmodified wound roll of 4+
Word Bearers Legion Rules
Going into one of their Legion Warlord Traits, Daemonic Whispers will give you a free bonus D3 CP. Plus, your Warlord gets a free once per battle reroll for hits, wounds, or saves. The biggest bonus is definitely the free CP here but re-rolls are a nice CP savings too! The other options have a good mix of both offensive and defensive abilities. Definitely flavourful and diverse.
Here we can see all of the stratagems that Word Bearers are getting access to, including options to help save characters, and beef up your priests, psykers, and possessed.
As far as relics go they also have some decent options. More psyker and priest support plus a decent chain axe replacement and more.
Night Lords Legion Rules
My favorite trait here has to be killing fury, Every time they charge, are charged, or perform a heroic intervention they get d3 extra attacks that phase. Give the character a hard-hitting weapon and throw it down!
We have Come for You is a way of keeping a unit tied up in combat as long as the requirements are met. This can be brutal if you’re wanting to keep one of your units alive by bear-hugging your opponent. All of the other options seem good in the right situation as well.
Jumping to the Night Lords relic, the Vox Daemonicus can only be held by an Infantry model (easy enough). However, this guy turns any aura abilities from the opponent to a maximum range of 1″. Plus, nothing can Deepstrike within 12″, just like the Primaris Phobos Captain. This relic is sick. Another sweet relic from the list is Flayer, given to the right character with enough attacks can obliterate a whole squad of chaff by himself if they don’t force a passed leadership.
Alpha Legion Legion Rules
Cult leader is perfect if you plan on spamming Cultists in your game, you can gain the chance of throwing an additional -1 AP on their attack. It’s especially nice because this can be for ranged and melee attacks. If you’re familiar with alpha legion lore I Am Alpharius is not only hilarious in-game but actually possibly quite good in ITC denying slay the warlord points.
Sabotaged Amory is the Big Kahuna Strat that’s too good to pass up. If your opponent has a knack for bringing “fluffy” T8 Knight spam lists to your games, why not make him sweat with his vehicles blowing up on a non-rerollable 3+. We Are Alpharius allows for interesting possibilities like taking I Am Alpharius to deny slay the warlord and then also taking a serious trait on top of that on a different character.
My favorite relic here has to be Hydra’s teeth Turns any bolt weapon into auto hits, wounding on 2s (unless its a vehicle then 6s). The Target also doesn’t receive benefits of cover. This simple relic is rather unique and can turn a character into a marine/guard killing machine.
Iron Warriors Legion Rules
Hope you got your Chaincannons ready on all those Havocs because they’re about to get a lot more silly with Siege Master. Havoc gunline, anyone?
Vehicle support and vehicle hate are the name of the game with Iron Warriors! Stratagems are no different, even something simple like Unholy Vigor can make a difference when gaining 3 lost wounds pushes your vehicle up a bracket!
Insidium may prove to be a good choice for Iron Warriors as it then opens up possibilities for buffs previously only available to Daemon keyword units.
Emperor’s Children Legion Rules
Glutton For Punishment gives the warlord the ability to reduce damage by 1 to a minimum of 1. A good option for anyone who might be targetted with big multi-damage weapons and make him that much stickier.
Used in the mustard phase, Combat Elixirs might be better suited for a smashy character like the one we mentioned above. Or you can use it on a giant squad of Noise Marines to bring them to T5. Whatever your need, you have four options to pick from for 2cp
Moving into the Emperor’s Children, with Raiment Revulsive this bearer becomes the perfect warrior. He can reroll everything a hit and wound but not his charge roll! A Chaos Smash Captain may be underway, folks.
World Eaters Legion Rules
This guy gets extra angry with Disciple of Khorne when an enemy character has the audacity to challenge him to combat. If your Warlord does find himself going head-to-head against another character, you get to reroll all your hits and wounds. They just have to be worthy enough of a warrior (having 5+ wounds).
Red Butchers is a pretty cool flavor win, as it’s named after a unit of elite terminators you can play in Horus Heresy! Not to mention it’s just good, making a unit of melee terminators fight twice in every combat can put some serious hurt on the enemy forces.
Gorefather, another one of Angron’s axes can be given to another angry Marine. This relic slaps about like a slightly weaker thunder hammer on base stats alone. However, if you roll a 6 to hit, they take an automatic 3 mortal wounds. Yikes. Helm of Furore is also pretty good. +2 strength on a melee-focused army is great, the forced charged if within 8″ isn’t even really a drawback as you probably would charge anyways!
Which Chapter/Legion rules do you think will be most impactful for Chaos going forward now?
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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.
