A new dawn rises over Ultramar, as Marneus Calgar, Cato Sicarius, and the new Victrix Honour Guard kits go up for pre-order tomorrow.
Normally, we’d wait to release their new rules until they were sitting on the shelves, buuuut… never mind that, we want to see them now.
First up is the big man himself – the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, one of the only people to ever fight Abaddon the Despoiler one-on-one and not get horribly murdered.* Marneus Calgar no longer comes with his personal pair of Victrix Guard, but instead gains the Deep Strike rule and the ability to join Terminators and Assault Terminators in battle – great news if you’re picking up the Battleforce: Crux Terminatus box tomorrow.
Do note, though, that this new version doesn’t replace the former version in Gravis armour – you can take whichever one you like, just as long as they’re not in the same army together. That would be weird.
The new incarnation of Cato Sicarius is a little different. The headline change is to his signature Talassarian tempest blade, which can now select one of three combat styles to tackle hard targets, hordes of lesser foes, or single out enemy champions – reflecting his unmatched skill as a duelist.
He also gains a new ability to replace Lead From the Front, and can join his Victrix Honour Guard even if Marneus Calgar is already hanging out with the squad.
Speaking of the Victrix Honour Guard, they’re a tough nut to crack with four wounds apiece and the Ultramarines Honour Guard ability that makes them harder to wound when joined by Calgar or a Captain. If that doesn’t make them a tricky enough proposition to shoot already, they can also make Surge moves towards the nearest foe when one of their comrades is struck down – terrifying for the poor souls who have to eat their incoming charge.
They also have an Objective Control characteristic of 2, unlike most of their veteran peers, so they’re great for muscling other elite units off objectives.
Victrix Honour Guard can be deployed in squads of either three or six models,** and it’s worth noting that the Chapter Champion and Chapter Ancient have the EPIC HERO keyword, so only one of your units can be upgraded with them. You’ll definitely want to bring them along though, as the Champion is a deadly assassin with Precision and Twin-linked on his blades of honour, while the banner gives the whole unit’s close combat attacks a powerful once-per-game boost to crack the toughest nuts.
Also, they’re just really cool miniatures.
Full rules downloads for Marneus Calgar, Cato Sicarius, and the Victrix Honour Guard – along with their points – will be available in the next Warhammer 40,000 downloads drop, which will be just after the World Championships of Warhammer taking place from the 6th to the 9th of November. They’ll also be added to the Warhammer 40,000 app at that time, alongside a minor rules update for the Captain with Jump Pack that makes their chainsword-and-storm shield option Matched Play-legal.***
Join the high command of the Ultramarines when they go up for pre-order tomorrow alongside the Battleforce: Crux Terminatus box, which contains your first taste of the new Assault Terminators and Terminator Ancient.
* Even if the Imperium pretended he did for a little while, as a prank.
** The datasheet might seem like you can take just a single Victrix Honour Guard model at minimum, but the unit’s points start at a three-model squad. Come on, he’d get lonely.
*** Feel free to use him in your casual games until then – he’ll be usable in competitive tournaments soon.
