What could the 10th editions starter set contents be?

[sarabando]

I do wonder if a marine faction being expanded may be one way they go. At first I thought no chance, they’ll stick with the poster boys that are ultramarines, but the more I think about it the more it may make sense (after all 6/7 Ed pulled it off). For example, starter set:

 

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris captain.

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris lieutenant

Blood angels primaris assault marines with jump packs x 10

Blood angels primaris terminator equivalent x3

(These units would make up the hq/elite/recruit edition contents)

Primaris Sanguinary priest

Primaris gravis librarian

Jump pack primaris chaplain

2 more 3-man specialised units.

(This would be equivalent to the indomitus sprue)

 

Then the wave release lands with the space marine codex / blood angels supplement released at the same time:

 

Blood angels named character updates for primaris (Dante, astorath, corbulo, lemartes)

Blood angels specific units of primaris death company and sanguinary guard, maybe a redemptor variant

Generic marine versions of the starter units in multipart / pose format plus some further expansion into unfilled roles such as scouts etc.

 

this might be enough to tempt me to start a primaris army. ....maybe

[Triszin]

World eaters vs cqc Marines.

 

 

X10 heavy assault intercessors

X3 jet pack assault

X1 new termi lord

 

X1 gravis standard bearer

Monopose brutalis dread

[Dark Shepherd]

The last 2 boxes have used non marine side to launch a range/faction expansion so I think that narrows it down to Nids/Chaos Marines/Emperors Childrens

[Doctor Perils]

I do wonder if a marine faction being expanded may be one way they go. At first I thought no chance, they’ll stick with the poster boys that are ultramarines, but the more I think about it the more it may make sense (after all 6/7 Ed pulled it off). For example, starter set:

 

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris captain.

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris lieutenant

Blood angels primaris assault marines with jump packs x 10

Blood angels primaris terminator equivalent x3

(These units would make up the hq/elite/recruit edition contents)

Primaris Sanguinary priest

Primaris gravis librarian

Jump pack primaris chaplain

2 more 3-man specialised units.

(This would be equivalent to the indomitus sprue)

 

Then the wave release lands with the space marine codex / blood angels supplement released at the same time:

 

Blood angels named character updates for primaris (Dante, astorath, corbulo, lemartes)

Blood angels specific units of primaris death company and sanguinary guard, maybe a redemptor variant

Generic marine versions of the starter units in multipart / pose format plus some further expansion into unfilled roles such as scouts etc.

I'm not sure I can see quite so many characters and 3-man units - I especially can't see any chapter-specific content for the starter box.

What I could see however is a new Dreadnought variant, since Primaris still only have the Redemptor which could certainly fit with Blood Angels as a starter faction too.

[ThePenitentOne]

So since we're speculating, let's colour outside the lines for a bit.

 

First- my preference, as many of you know, is that there never is a 10th, because edition churn is the root of all evil for any game system, and also because GW has spent two editions building the infrastructure that would make a persistent edition possible; they are certainly exploring the potential, even if they never decide to pull the trigger. I'm no longer naive enough to actually predict this or insist that it is coming, but there is still the slimmest possibility that the company will actually try and pivot to to a different business model.

 

But then, that wasn't the exercise.

 

So assuming there is another edition, let's think for a minute or two about this. I know Marines are ALWAYS in the starter box, but again what happens if GW actually starts thinking about the next 30 years rather than the last 30 years and realizes that, though poster boys, marines are almost exhausted as a range. I mean what's next- Secundamaris? I know there's a few units left for which there is a genuine niche, though how that's possible with 100+ kits already on the market, I'll never know. But if GW wants to lay the groundwork for building toward a new poster faction, they have to start somewhere, don't they? Because the marine range is finite.

 

By contrast, consider Eldar. Corsairs and Ynarri are full factions with almost nothing- their potential is literally without limits. Look at Leagues of Votann- more limitless potential. There are decades of development ahead for either of these armies. Look at guard! You could release 3 kits for each of half a dozen regiments without even denting the potential for development.

 

And don't forget that if we are within 18 months of this new edition, it's going to drop less than a year after an entire Marine vs. Marine game, with an an entire box of one set of marines vs another set of marines. And I know the first six months of 9th was just a marine parade of internet rage, and that it still made the company truckloads of cash; I also know that B&C was built by and is still home to many proud marine enthusiasts... But do you think it's possible that GW kinda feels like the Rolling Stones- forced by the fans to open every show with Start Me Up for the last two decades even though they'd much rather be playing new material or even their favourite B-side that hasn't made the set list since 1968?

 

I mean look what they did with Sigmar. And sure, they had to create the Stormcast to be the fantasy marines... I get that. But clearly the team wants to break some ground.

 

So what about Ynarri vs. Emperor's Children with actual high quality Eldar scenery in the box for the first time ever? We saw the Wraithbone city pieces in the promo shots for Nachmund and Eldrich Omens, so there are molds or at the very least STL files already designed. Ynarri is the perfect excuse to create actual Exodite models- they always have been. There are still resin-only aspects that need to be updated.

 

And EC... Marine enough for the "MUST... HAVE... MARINES..." crowd, yet still fresh and "not" marines. Lots of potential here too.

 

Leagues of Votan? Yeah, to promote this army, GW is going to have to invest. They're going to have to pull out all the stops. A Necromunda gang, a Kill Team, a vs. box and a starter box should just about give them the discount punch needed to convince people to build from zero to 2K points.

 

So there you have it. I'm not making a call. There is no firm prediction here- I don't want to set any expectations that will lead me to disappointment. I just want to shake it up a bit and look in a few directions where no one else is looking. Because GW is clearly interested in letting the fan base know that the company can still surprise us. I give you Exhibit A: Squats 2.0. Seriously, go back in time five years and just ask yourself if you ever thought this would happen. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by ThePenitentOne

[The Yncarne]

I expect space marines (maybe Crimson Fists) vs Orks with a 'battle for the farm' theme to honor Rogue Trader's scenario and the first (2nd ed) box set.

[ThePenitentOne]

I expect space marines (maybe Crimson Fists) vs Orks with a 'battle for the farm' theme to honor Rogue Trader's scenario and the first (2nd ed) box set.

 

If I was GW this would be my 40th anniversary vs. box. Expect it in 2027.

[Dark Shepherd]

Because of the timing of codexes I dont think theyd do Squats

 

IF they did break pattern then maybe Marines and Sisters v somebody

 

I think theres still plenty of marine corners inc new Termys, vets etc they can do: outrider variants, jump and biker characters, heavy melee, jump melee

[jimbo1701]

 

 

I do wonder if a marine faction being expanded may be one way they go. At first I thought no chance, they’ll stick with the poster boys that are ultramarines, but the more I think about it the more it may make sense (after all 6/7 Ed pulled it off). For example, starter set:

 

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris captain.

Blood angels specific jump pack primaris lieutenant

Blood angels primaris assault marines with jump packs x 10

Blood angels primaris terminator equivalent x3

(These units would make up the hq/elite/recruit edition contents)

Primaris Sanguinary priest

Primaris gravis librarian

Jump pack primaris chaplain

2 more 3-man specialised units.

(This would be equivalent to the indomitus sprue)

 

Then the wave release lands with the space marine codex / blood angels supplement released at the same time:

 

Blood angels named character updates for primaris (Dante, astorath, corbulo, lemartes)

Blood angels specific units of primaris death company and sanguinary guard, maybe a redemptor variant

Generic marine versions of the starter units in multipart / pose format plus some further expansion into unfilled roles such as scouts etc.

I'm not sure I can see quite so many characters and 3-man units - I especially can't see any chapter-specific content for the starter box.

What I could see however is a new Dreadnought variant, since Primaris still only have the Redemptor which could certainly fit with Blood Angels as a starter faction too.

A dreadnought would be great in a starter (like in aobr) and the etb redemptor shows they can do it easily enough.

 

The format I used for speculating on contents was literally a mirror of the Indomitus contents for marines - 10 man assault squad, 5 characters and 3x 3-man squads, so they definitely would consider doing something like that.

[gaurdian31]

I want Squats vs Hrud. Or anyone really vs Hrud.

[WrathOfTheLion]

I was thinking the other day that something like Grey Knights would actually be really cool for the SM/Imperium side. Of course we know it'll end up being SM in the end, but that would certainly be a shakeup that I think would be more interesting.

 

Dark Mechanicum would certainly be what I would favor the most for the other half as I think about it more, if it's not Emperor's Children or World Eaters.

[Triszin]

Dark mech vs grailmaris knights

 

 

Would be awesome

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Obviously squats v tyranids

[spessmarine]

I mean, Dark Vengeance was a thing so it is entirely possible for say SW or BA to take some spotlight.

[Lord Marshal]

My current theory is that the 10th opposition will be the World Eaters, but it would be their second wave of releases?

 

A few leaks now have mentioned World Eaters coming late this year, which seems odd when we know there's still codexes for Guard and Daemons along with decent sized releases for them, before even getting into the League. However at least one of those leaks said that Angron might not be part of the initial release, which always struck me as very, very strange considering a God-aligned 'dex without it's Daemon Primarch would be inconsistent. Them getting a second wave headlining the new edition - particularly when sales are going to be at their highest - along with Angron's model would probably be a bigger injection into GW's books than at any other time.

[Halandaar]

My current theory is that the 10th opposition will be the World Eaters, but it would be their second wave of releases?

 

A few leaks now have mentioned World Eaters coming late this year, which seems odd when we know there's still codexes for Guard and Daemons along with decent sized releases for them, before even getting into the League. However at least one of those leaks said that Angron might not be part of the initial release, which always struck me as very, very strange considering a God-aligned 'dex without it's Daemon Primarch would be inconsistent. Them getting a second wave headlining the new edition - particularly when sales are going to be at their highest - along with Angron's model would probably be a bigger injection into GW's books than at any other time.

 

IMO World Eaters are either a late-9th Edition launch, or the 10th Edition Starter set enemy, not both. Even GW knows that launching a brand new Codex for a brand new faction and then completely invalidating it 6-9 months later is too much, which is exactly what it would be if World Eaters got a release this year followed by them also being the first non-Imperial Codex of 10th Edition.

 

The only thing even close to this I could potentially see would be a one-off World Eaters kit dropping alongside a campaign book during 9th and then the main faction release being in 10th - a bit like Illuminor Szerasz appeared in psychic awakening just before 9th Edition, or Guilliman in the gathering storm just before 8th. That would satisfy both the rumour of World Eaters getting a release in 9th but also them being the enemy faction in 10th.

[tangoalphatwo]

Everyone is focused on “this years” releases. Hasn’t covid pushed a lot of the timing back?

[Halandaar]

Everyone is focused on “this years” releases. Hasn’t covid pushed a lot of the timing back?

 

Difficult to know for certain; the big info dump from last year that "this year's" expectations are based on has been correct on pretty much everything, right down to the timeframes so any lingering delays due to Covid seem to have been mitigated now, or at least GW have juggled things successfully to make sure their big tickets releases go out on time: 40K 9th Edition and AoS 3rd Edition both launched exactly when you'd expect them to despite Covid, and the two Kill Team expansions have successfully rolled out in the periods they told us they would last year.

[Dark Shepherd]

Id prefer a delay of a year but they did seem to dump/rush out/splooge a load of releases just before Christmas

[jimbo1701]

I can’t imagine with the current pacing we won’t be up to date with all 9th codexes by the end of summer with a marines 9.5 and supplement update to round things off. Then into the equivalent of psychic awakening to round off 9th before 10th hits next June/July.

[ThePenitentOne]

Not so sure about that- I think if there had been no delays, almost ALL of the dexes would be out already. They had planned 2 per month according to Warcom. The Leagues and the World Eaters might have been the exceptions- if we were on track, they'd probably be the only dexes still to come.

[killersquid]

I could still see a marine vs chaos marine battle, especially if it's introducing one of the legions as a stand-alone book, like they did with deathguard. Could be a way to introduce world eaters or emperors children.

[jimbo1701]

Not so sure about that- I think if there had been no delays, almost ALL of the dexes would be out already. They had planned 2 per month according to Warcom. The Leagues and the World Eaters might have been the exceptions- if we were on track, they'd probably be the only dexes still to come.

I was curious myself and so I looked up the release dates. 8th was released in June 2017 (9th in July 2020) so pretty much 36 months between them.

 

Chaos knights got their own book in july 2019, then marines 2.0 in august 2019 (the codex adherent supplements ran through from then til October) and the sororitas book came out in November.

 

The psychic awakening series ran from October 2019 right through to July 2020 basically transitioning the completed codex run through to 9th.

 

I think that makes March 2019 (genecults) they last time an ‘update’ was done for a codex from the previous edition, so yes we are behind by comparison.

[Helias_Tancred]

Space Marines and (fill in the blank) __________.

 

I'm a bit biased but I'd love to see the 10th edition boxed set be set in Imperium Nihilus with it being Blood Angels vs ______ ... :)

[redmapa]

World Eaters are rumored to be getting their codex sooner than later so Im going to go with a Dark Imperium style box with Space Marines vs World Eaters.