Games Workshop's "Guide" to 8th Edition Chaos Space Marines

... by Frankie.

Alongside some more factual pieces, Games Workshop has started to write some faction specific articles to show how they will fare in the upcoming 8th Edition:

"Today, we start a new article series where he (and a few others) will talk about how the new edition is going to affect specific factions, and what units they think we’ll be seeing more of. We start off with Chaos Space Marines – take it away Frankie…"

Frankie runs big events for 40K, such as the Las Vegas Open, the Bay Open, and the new South California Open. What are these? Haven't a clue, I live in the UK, and my wife would kill me for spending thousands of pounds on flights to push around toy soldiers. But I assume they must be a big deal for GW to use this man as their mouth piece.

With all that said, I think we can simply discount these faction "guides" as waffle for new players. There isn't much new information here, and it generally boils down to telling you what units will be in the new edition.

Here's an example:

"Now for the moment everyone has been waiting for: how does Chaos play in the new edition? It has been a long time since we’ve seen Chaos armies with a lot of power armour on the tables, but no more! In the new edition, you will be seeing a great many Chaos armies, and a lot of them will have power armour in abundance! Yes, you read that right, you will want to have Chaos Space Marines in Chaos Space Marine armies!"

You'd think it would go on to mention why, but it simply goes on to other units in the army, with roughly the same formula:

• Remember that one unit no one uses?
• You can use that unit!
• Don't forget they have cool sounding weapons.
• You want this unit in your army.
• Trust me...

You might be tempted to burst into Nerd Rage over this waffle, but keep in mind this article isn't really targeted at the kind of player who reads blogs or watches tactica videos on Youtube. This is marketing candy for younger or newer players, who at this stage in the hobby are more about the style than the substance.

That's not a comment of derision or an insult. Everyone starts off in 40K because the models look cool and Space Marines are the biggest bad donkeys evar. Once that neck stubble turns into a full beard, then you start caring about nuance of game mechanics. Or you give up the game and sell your starter models on eBay. Such is the circle of life.


My point is that you shouldn't take these articles too seriously, which is why I haven't really written about it. There's simply not much new information in them. Treat them as they are... an advert for new players, or people looking to start a new army in the next edition.


Which is probably why it was released alongside other reveals, instead of having a day to itself.


Clever chaps and chapettes at GW Marketing.


Stay tuned for this evening's post, as Games Workshop reveals the rules for Characters!

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