# Codex: Space Marines



## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Codex: Space Marines: Your first look!

We did tell you that you wouldn’t have to wait long for your first codex! Codex: Space Marines will be the first of the new edition, and it’s our best Space Marines codex yet, filled with all the stuff you’ve loved from previous editions, like special characters and Chapter Tactics, as well as exciting new additions like advanced stratagems and new units. You’ll be able to pre-order your codex next weekend, and we’ve got a week of previews to tide you over until then, starting with an overview of what’s inside the book.

This is the complete guide to your army, with 104 pages of background, covering the long and storied history of the Adeptus Astartes and the distinct traditions of the First Founding Chapters and their Successors. There’s also new background focused on the Primaris Marines and the Ultima Founding, from Chapters brought back from the brink of destruction like the Crimson Fists to new heroes like the Rift Stalkers. There’s detailed livery to inspire your own paint schemes, as well as a breakdown of squad and company markings, from those of the more Codex compliant Chapters like the Ultramarines to the unique battle-iconography of the Black Templars.

The codex is packed with new units, too. We can’t tell you about all of these yet, but we can guarantee you’ll see everything from Dark Imperium, our new Primaris Space Marine heroes, the Reivers, the Repulsor and the colossal Redemptor Dreadnought. There are also all the characters and units you know and love, including Chapter-specific special characters that will unlock yet more avenues for army building and themed forces. Again, Space Marine players will have a very powerful and complex force at their disposal, with some truly terrifying combinations available to those who make the maximum use of Primaris and non-Primaris units; one of our favourites is combining Reivers with High Marshal Helbrecht and Chaplain Grimaldus to create a savage assault army capable of striking the fear of the Emperor into the heart of the most obstinate heretic. All in all, there are 85 datasheets in the book – the codex is almost the size of the Warhammer 40,000 book.

Of course, a Space Marine army wouldn’t be a Space Marine army without the legacy of its Primarch; these are represented in Codex: Space Marines with Chapter Tactics for (deep breath now) the Ultramarines, the White Scars, the Imperial Fists, the Black Templars, the Salamanders, the Raven Guard and the Iron Hands. These have been changed a little from what you may be used to, and for the better – we’ve been able to make the Chapter Tactics very powerful and very flexible, but your army will need to be battle-forged to use them. Previous Chapter Tactics generally focused around specific units and weapons like Salamanders with flamers or Imperial Fists with bolter-armed Tactical Squads, but this time around, they’ll be benefitting every unit and every army build; the strength of the Space Marines is diversity, after all. We’ll be taking a look at these over the next week, and what you can do with them, so keep your eyes peeled.

These Chapter Tactics are backed up with a range of relics, warlord traits, psychic powers and Stratagems. The Stratagems are especially exciting; the Space Marines codex has 26 new Stratagems for you to play with. These allow you to customise your army even more – as well as general Stratagems, there’s also one for each Chapter, as well as Stratagems focused around specific units. Try combining Vindicators to fire a brutal Linebreaker Bombardment, or unleashing Tremor Shells from a Thunderfire Cannon. Again, these are going to reward disciplined and careful list building with a lot of powerful choices and allow you to spotlight units and tactics that you like to use.

With Stratagems, you’ll be able to build armoured columns, focus on your heroes or master the Fight phase. These are paired with 14 Warlord Traits – 6 for any Space Marine army and 8 for the different Chapters. Particularly shrewd readers will notice that’s one more than there should be – that’s because the Crimson Fists, while using the Chapter Tactics of the Imperial Fists, have their own Warlord Trait and Relic. We haven’t even got into psychic powers yet, or Tactical Objectives…

Whether you want to build an army from the background or create your own custom Chapter and heroes, Codex: Space Marines is going to be very rewarding for you.

You’ll be able to pre-order your own codex and build an army truly worthy of the Adeptus Astartes next weekend.

In the meantime, we’ll be focusing on a different Chapter every day until then to tide you over. Make sure to come back tomorrow for your first look, and in the meantime, you can kick off your army with Start Collecting! Space Marines or get your hands on some of the new units and heroes.

Note the plasma option on the inceptors, and the chaplain and apothecary in the pic below.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Zoomed in for a closer look. These guys look fantastic!! Also, note the Inceptors with Plasma weapons instead of their Heavy Bolter pistols.


LotN


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

And just what in the hell are the guys in front of the inceptors? they look like slimmer terminators with the cyclone launcher packs.

Edit: I just saw your thread LOTN adressing that.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

Pants moist in anticipation !


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Seems people havent yet noticed the bit about the extra 3 primaris organs. interesting stuff.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Brother Lucian said:


> Seems people havent yet noticed the bit about the extra 3 primaris organs. interesting stuff.


There has never been tons of hype for a majority of the existing organs space marines have. The primaris ones don't come off as terribly special to be honest.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

im really liking how fluffy these rules are. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the other chapters rules. 

*Chapter Focus: Raven Guard*​
The Raven Guard are a dark and mysterious Chapter, specialising in covert warfare. Using speed and stealth, the Raven Guard stalk their enemies before unleashing a lethal killing blow, before melting back into the shadows once more. In the new Codex: Space Marines, the Raven Guard are a diverse and flexible army, taking full advantage of stealth, shooting and melee to annihilate their foes.

Shadow Masters is one of the most versatile and powerful new Chapter Tactics, offering a great bonus for all sorts of armies. Raven Guard Scouts now live up to their reputation in the background, and units of snipers with camo cloaks will be incredibly difficult to displace from cover, while other ranged support units like Devastators, Intercessors and even ranged Dreadnoughts will benefit hugely from better defences against shooting. Like all the new Chapter Tactics, the purpose of this rule is to reward focused army building with powerful benefits that allow for a range of viable armies.

The Raven Guard aren’t just a shooting army – on the other side of the coin, they’re still a potent combat army. Kayvaan Shrike, now promoted to Chapter Master of the Raven Guard, allows fellow Raven Guard jump pack units to reroll their charge ranges, helping your Assault Squads, Vanguard Veterans and Inceptors close the distance on key enemy units.

Reivers, on the other hand, are a versatile and powerful unit in a Raven Guard army and function well with other assault units; they’re almost as mobile as jump troops with their grapnel launchers and grav-chutes, with some handy abilities like Terror Troops and shock grenades. If you want to make your own Raven Guard characters, their unique Warlord Trait, Silent Stalker, prevents enemies from firing Overwatch, while the Raven’s Fury Chapter relic allows a jump pack character to move at blistering speeds and reroll charge ranges – combined, you’ll have a potent and deadly character assassin.

One of the most exciting new features of the Raven Guard is their unique Stratagem, Strike From the Shadows. You’ll want to pack as many command points as you can into your list to take full advantage of this, allowing you to hold units back at the start of the game and deploy them anywhere more than 9″ away from the enemy just before the game begins.

There’s a huge range of ways to use this; getting a group of Hellblasters or Centurions into a strong firing position, setting up a devastating first turn charge with an Assault Squad or Inceptors, or just forcing your enemy to deploy defensively. As this rule is tied to command points, you’ll be able to choose how you use it – in some games you’ll want to deploy lots of your army with Strike from the Shadows, while in others it may be beneficial to hold some points back for a crucial re-roll, or another Stratagem like a flyer-busting flakk missile.



With the new codex out soon, your army won’t have to wait in the shadows much longer. In the meantime, now is a great time to pick up Kayvaan Shrike to lead your own Raven Guard army. Make sure to come back tomorrow for another sneak peek at a Chapter from the new codex.


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## Entarion (Oct 25, 2009)

Ohoho Chaplain looks fantastic! But I am not sure why they removed winged top of Crozius. Primaris special chars look great so far expect for Captain. But they are all dull models.

I wish that techmarines received such treatment. We have only two old models and none is plastic. I hope we will get at least Primaris version soon.

Below few more pics of new boxes and prices. I will be getting Limited Codex and that's it. I am wondering if we will ever see classic multipart box for intercessors.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

*White Scars*

In today’s Chapter Focus we’re looking at the White Scars, peerless masters of the hunt. Similar in some respects to the Raven Guard (who we previewed yesterday), the White Scars exchange the stealth of their brethren for unparalleled speed.

The savage appearance of the White Scars belies an intelligent, measured approach to war; every brutal attack is the culmination of careful planning and reconnaissance. Attacking with primal fury, the White Scars are a storm from which there is no escape. On the tabletop, this is reflected by the White Scars’ Chapter Tactic, Lightning Assault. Firstly, all White Scars biker units move faster when advancing, allowing you to close in on the foe and outflank your enemies. Secondly, all White Scars units – including Dreadnoughts! – can charge in the same turn that they fall back. This is huge, effectively allowing the White Scars to guarantee priority in assaults and letting powerful close combat units engage and re-engage at will without getting bogged down.

This is going to be deadly with Reivers, who, as we’ve mentioned in their tactica, can use Shock Grenades to prevent enemies from firing Overwatch, or stymie units that inflict damage when they charge such as the Ironclad Dreadnought and Assault Centurions. Inceptors, in particular, are one of the most dangerous units that a White Scars general can field, capable of shooting and charging when they fall back thanks to having both Fly and the White Scars Chapter Tactic. Jaghatai Khan would be proud!

As well as Chapter Tactics, there’s a range of ways to further customise your White Scars. Kor’sarro Khan is as powerful as he ever was, and his unique ability For the Khan! boosts the Strength of charging White Scars units – combined with their Chapter Tactics, it’s going to be very hard to defend against getting repeatedly charged by a White Scars army. The White Scars Stratagem, Born in the Saddle, allows White Scars bikers to advance, shoot, and charge, meaning that each biker has a potential threat range of 26″, and you’ll be able to hit your opponent hard before they’re even able to react.

Finally, the White Scars have a unique Warlord Trait and Relic adding yet more powerful options to the army. Deadly Hunter allows your Warlord to deal mortal wounds when charging, while the Mantle of the Stormseer makes it easier for White Scars psykers to cast Smite and unleash the power of the storm.



If you want to win your games with speed, savagery, and liberal use of Smite, the White Scars are the Chapter for you. Come back tomorrow for another Chapter Focus, or pick up Kor’Sarro Khan today to lead your own White Scars.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Lightning Assault has me jazzed for whatever is given to the Blood Angels when they get a 'dex. White Scars always seemed the most similar Chapter out of the Codex ones.


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/07/19/chapter-focus-salamanders-july19gw-homepage-post-3/

*Chapter Focus: Salamanders*










Using speed, stealth or tactics to defeat your foes is one thing, but incinerating them, while less subtle, is just as effective. In today’s Chapter Focus, we’re looking at the Salamanders, stoic paragons of strength, honour and flamecraft. We’ve already taken a first look at the Salamanders Chapter Tactic, but today, we’re taking a deep dive into how this works with the rest of your army and other powerful abilities like the Salamanders’ Stratagem and their special character.


Salamanders are renowned on the tabletop for their mastery of flamer weapons, and Salamanders armies have traditionally revolved around getting as many of them into the opponent’s backline as soon as possible. This is still true of the Salamanders in the new codex, but their Chapter Tactic is far more versatile that before, to the extent that you’ll be able to field a viable Salamanders army with no flamer or melta weapons at all! 












Master Artisans allows any Salamanders unit to re-roll a single failed hit roll and a single failed wound roll every time it shoots or fights – essentially, this is a more flexible version of the old Master Crafted rule. In practice, this opens up a huge range of possibilities for the Salamanders: safely supercharging plasma weaponry or guaranteeing a deadly blow with a power fist, for example. Like the other Chapter Tactics, Master Artisans will benefit Dreadnoughts as well, allowing them to make the most of their powerful weaponry – if you want a whole army of these ancient heroes, then Salamanders are one of the best choices for your Chapter Tactics (just as you’d expect from the guys who brought you Bray’Arth Ashmantle!).










Salamanders armies will be able to combine these Chapter Tactics with a range of other options in the codex to create some great armies. Salamanders Characters in particular are going to be some of the most powerful in the game, and it’s more than possible to have a Captain in Gravis Armour with Strength 5 and Toughness 6(!) through their unique warlord trait and relic. The Salamanders’ unique Stratagem, Flamecraft, greatly boosts the power of flamer weapons of all shapes and sizes, while their unique character, Vulkan He’stan, offers further benefits to generals who want to bring the heat to the battlefields of the 41st Millennium.










Finally, the Salamanders can make great use of one of the most powerful units in the new codex: the Aggressors. In a Salamanders army, you’ll want to equip yours with Flamestorm Gauntlets; these powerful weapons benefit hugely from Flamecraft in the shooting phase and gain deadly accuracy from Master Artisans in the combat phase. A firebase of Aggressors surrounding Vulkan He’Stan is going to be nigh impregnable and is especially terrifying when you consider that these walking fortresses can fire twice if they remain still in the movement phase.










If you’re a fan of flamers, you really can’t go wrong with the Salamanders. Make sure to come back tomorrow for another Chapter Focus, looking at a more sinister but no less powerful Chapter of battle-smiths – the Iron Hands.

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Seems to me that the Salamanders in particular can make great use out of overcharging plasma weapons in hellblaster squads due to the reroll. And in general being much more efficient about connecting their hits and dealing damage. Plus hit debuffs is less scary as you have a shot at a better roll.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

*Chapter Focus: Iron Hands​*

Among the Space Marines, few are as relentless or as ruthless as the Iron Hands. Where others see gene-crafted physical perfection, the Iron Hands see only the weakness of the flesh, augmenting their bodies with cybernetics and making heavy use of tanks. The ultimate fate for an Iron Hand is interment in a Dreadnought and an eternity of war as a living machine.










The Iron Hands Chapter Tactic, The Flesh Is Weak, reflects both the relentless spirit and augmented bodies of these hardy warriors, allowing them to shrug off wounds and making them exceptionally difficult to kill. Multi-wound models like Terminators are going to be nigh-impossible to shift, while, appropriate to their background, Iron Hands Dreadnoughts of all types are going to be unstoppable. One of the deadliest units available to the Iron Hands is the Venerable Dreadnought, who can combine The Flesh Is Weak with Unyielding Ancient to wade through even the heaviest of fire.

While Chapter Tactics don’t usually apply to Vehicles, Iron Hands armies will be able to take full advantage of their chapter armoury thanks to Stratagems. As well as stratagems available to all Space Marine armies like Killshot and Armour of Contempt, the Iron Hands’ Machine Empathy lets vehicles move and shoot without penalties to hit on their Heavy weapons and even advance and shoot without penalties for their Assault weapons. Even the humble Razorback can be transformed into a deadly forward assault tank, although the biggest beneficiary of this tactic will again likely be Dreadnoughts. An Iron Hands Redemptor Dreadnought armed with a heavy onslaught gatling cannon will be able to move on the foe with terrifying speed while maintaining a steady rate of accurate fire – a perfect demonstration of the weakness of flesh!

It’s not all about machines though. In the last edition, melee Iron Hands characters were some of the best in the game, and that’s still true, as their Warlord Trait and Relic allow you to make some really lethal combatants, gaining extra attacks from Merciless Logic and cutting down the foe with The Axe of Medusa.










The Iron Hands are the chapter for commanders who want to demonstrate the power of the machine with unstoppable columns of tanks, troops and Dreadnoughts. Make sure to come back tomorrow for our final Chapter previews, where we’ll be looking at the dauntless descendants of Dorn with the Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists and Black Templars.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

*Chapter Focus: The Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists and Black Templars*​
The Imperial Fists and their successors are renowned and feared across the Imperium, and while they may differ in tactics they are all stubborn, indomitable warriors, infused with bitter pride and martial prowess. The Imperial Fists are masters of the close-ranged firefight, making maximum use of bolt weaponry, while the Black Templars are zealous crusaders famed for their fighting spirit and expertise in melee combat. The Crimson Fists, too, are renowned warriors, having escaped destruction at the hands of the Orks through sheer tenacity and recently been given a new lease on life thanks to reinforcements from the Ultima Founding.

The Imperial Fists Chapter Tactic allows them to ignore cover with their shooting attacks; this is an incredibly powerful bonus that’ll be punishing for enemy tanks and infantry alike. There’s no hiding from the masters of siegecraft! This Chapter Tactic benefits infantry, bikers and Dreadnoughts, and you’ll be free to build your own Imperial Fists however you choose, whether you’re using massed Tactical Marines or taking advantage of your Devastators. Naturally, the Imperial Fists are a great Chapter if you want to focus on using bolt weapons – their unique Stratagem, Bolter Drill, allows for you to drown enemies in devastatingly accurate fusillades of bolter fire, while even their unique relic, The Spartean, is a bolt pistol. 

Finally, your Imperial Fists will be indomitable in defense thanks to their unique Warlord Trait:

Crimson Fists armies use the bolter-based and cover-ignoring tactics of their brethren, but have a few distinguishing features that make them worthy of a closer look. Firstly, Pedro Kantor is back, and is a superb force multiplier, offering his brethren additional attacks and rerolls to hit – Emperor protect anyone who tries to charge a gunline with him in it.

Perhaps one of the most exciting additions to the Crimson Fists is a literal Crimson Fist to equip your characters with. Combined with their Warlord Trait, which allows an outnumbered general to increase his number of attacks, this is going to be a fun and thematic addition to your army.

In stark contrast to their brethren, the Black Templars are an assault army first and foremost. Every unit with the Black Templars Chapter Tactics can re-roll failed charges; this is an enormous bonus, and one that will make the Black Templars one of the most powerful assault armies not just for the Space Marines but in the entire game. Deep-strikers like Assault Terminators and Inceptors, in particular, are going to be very dangerous in the Black Templars army. As well as the new units, Black Templars retain access to old favourites like the Crusader Squad and the Emperor’s Champion, and there are some great combinations to be unlocked by combining characters like High Marshal Helbrecht with new assault units like the Reivers.

While the Black Templars have no Psykers of their own, their unique Stratagem, Abhor the Witch, allows Black Templars units to negate psychic powers through sheer force of will – this doesn’t just apply to the shooting powers but to auras and support powers too. The Black Templars are a distinctive and powerful force, and one that’ll be able to make great use of the new codex.

The Imperial Fists and their Successors are the Chapters you’ll want to pick if you like facing your enemy head on, whether you’re cutting them down at range with hails of fire or charging to meet them in brutal melee. You’ll be able to bring powerful Chapter Tactics to your games very, very soon – Codex: Space Marines is available to pre-order tomorrow, alongside the Redemptor Dreadnought and some other new units we can’t wait to show you.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

So moist For I.F tactics, dakka dakka dakka dakka boom


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## Entarion (Oct 25, 2009)

Has this been shared ? There are shots of new multi-part Intercessors and Hellblasters. I hope that in the future Primaris will have as variable equipment as old marines. It will have to happen sooner or later anyway.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Entarion said:


> Has this been shared ? There are shots of new multi-part Intercessors and Hellblasters. I hope that in the future Primaris will have as variable equipment as old marines. It will have to happen sooner or later anyway.


Im going to go ahead and hope for sooner rather than later....


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

SwedeMarine said:


> Im going to go ahead and hope for sooner rather than later....


Very soon. They should be up for preorder this weekend.

The more I see of the 8th Ed stuff, the more I think they're trying to bring some elements of HH unit choices into 40k. Mass units of plasma guns, huge squads of traitor marines, and now a double barrelled bolter like the AL Headhunters.


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## Entarion (Oct 25, 2009)

Khorne's Fist said:


> Very soon. They should be up for preorder this weekend.


Is it so? I thought there will be only Chaplain, Apothecary and Repulsor up for pre-order this weekend. They are pouring out new marines really fast. I thought they will be switching between SM and DG releases.

I would like to see Primaris with other heavy/special/melee weapon options. For now, they look a bit boring compared to old marine kits.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Entarion said:


> I would like to see Primaris with other heavy/special/melee weapon options. For now, they look a bit boring compared to old marine kits.


I feel the exact same way. But I shouldn't get greedy TBH. It's been a long established tradition that Space Marines get the most love whenever a new edition comes out in terms of new goodies available. I'm actually looking forward to seeing some new DG models to work up my Chaos army and since I started Nids I can't wait to see what they have lined up for those as well. 

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