BREAKING NEWS: Primaris Reivers rules revealed

Whilst I'm still dubious as to where these guys come in with Guilliman's bright and shiny new crusade, Warhammer Community has revealed a little of the rules for them.

And they are scary.

You'll see why that's funny later.

Dramatic lighting not included in box set

First up is what you'd expect from a Primaris Marine:

• 2 Wounds
• 2 Attacks
• 3+ armour save
• 3+ WS (Unconfirmed)
• 3+ BS (Unconfirmed)
• 4 Strenth (Unconfirmed)
• 4 Toughness (Unconfirmed)

Their wargear is literally the close combat version of the Intercessors:

• The Heavy Bolt Pistol is the same as normal, but with the standard(?) -1 AP of the Primaris bolters.
• The combat knife gives an extra attack.

Where things get good is the special issue wargear.

Shock grenades are amazing little bundles of fun that stop an enemy from shooting overwatch. The Tau weep, but remember it only affects the target unit. For the Greater Good means your infantry line can still open up on these guys if they charge.

The shock grenades also give a -1 To Hit in shooting, meaning they can toss grenades to weaken the shooting of one unit, and charge another thanks to the new way shooting works in 8th Edition.

Their special rule is Terror Troops (See? Scary.), and the wording is a little unclear. I'm just going to quote directly from Warhammer Community and then let you know where the confusion can come in:

In-game, this forces nearby enemy units to subtract 1 from their Leadership. Like shock grenades, you’ll have to be deep in enemy lines to maximise the effectiveness of this ability, but it’s worth noting that this doesn’t just directly aid the Reivers themselves but also their fellow Battle-brothers. If one of your opponent’s gunline units is caught fighting Reivers, units within 3” will also be suffering penalties to their Leadership 

I'm assuming this means that the Reivers have a debilitation bubble stolen right from the AdMechs Sicarian Infiltrators, only not as good. But it could also be interpreted as affecting the unit the Reivers are in combat with, and then other units within 3-inches of the unit the Reivers are in combat with.

It's going to be the difference between the area of effect being around the Reivers themselves, or charging the biggest blob of canon fodder to spread the debuff around. It should really be the former, but we'll have to wait and see.

Overall, I really like the concept of the unit, but can't really see them wearing Macragge Blue. Such a unit would fit in well with Space Wolves, as a loner hunting unit. I can imagine White Scars using these as dedicated headhunters. I can even see the Black Templars fielding these as zealots willing to forgo the traditional Crusade mobs to decapitate some of the Emperor's foes.

I just don't see the Strength and Honour Ultramarines being able to do a duty which, by all rights, has its origins in the Night Lords or Alpha Legion. Or maybe even these guys...

Sons of Horus Reavers from Forgeworld

Fluff dissonance aside, I'll be getting some for my Primaris Field Police.

Nos es Lex

You may be thinking that a unit of terror troops would not fit in with the clean and ordered aesthetic of a space cop chapter. Well, I was thinking these guys would be a dedicated tracking unit. Perhaps some kind of bounty hunting unit. Perhaps sharing a colour scheme with this guy:

Swap some grey for white, he'd fit right in.

 I've been looking for an excuse to get him into 40K for years...

Until next time!


Thanks for reading.

If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated.

If you have anything you want me to look at, let me know in the comments below. I'll probably be able to write an article about that topic within a day!

If you want to support me directly, I have affiliation links with Wayland Games and Elemental Games. I get a small percentage of purchases you make her, and you get cheaper miniatures! If you really love what I do here, you can make a one off donation at my PayPal, or become a true hero to table top education and make a regular donation to my Patreon. Every Little helps!