Warhammer 40k Archives

“Courage and Honour!”

For a generation of hobbyists, that’s not just a battle cry—it’s a promise. It’s the gold standard of what it means to be a Space Marine. And this week, my friends, Games Workshop is delivering on that promise in a big, blue, beautiful way. The pre-order frenzy is real, the hype is palpable, and if you’ve ever, ever considered starting an army of the Emperor’s finest, this is your moment.

The Sons of Roboute Guilliman are back, and they are not messing around. We’re talking about a tidal wave of new releases hitting pre-order on October 25th, headlined by one of the most incredible Battleforce boxes I have ever seen. This isn’t just a release; it’s a statement. It’s a love letter to the most iconic Space Marine chapter and the absolute best time for a new player to answer the call of Macragge.

For those of you just joining us in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, the Ultramarines are the exemplars, the poster boys, the living embodiment of the Codex Astartes—the holy text that governs how Space Marines wage war. Think of their adherence to it as a kind of “biblical worldview” for transhuman super-soldiers. And at the pinnacle of their might are the Terminators. Clad in Tactical Dreadnought Armour, these warriors are walking tanks, teleporting into the heart of battle to crush the Emperor’s foes.

This release wave is all about them, and it’s being led by the return of a legend: Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, back in his most iconic wargear. So grab your plastic glue, clear your hobby desk, and let’s dive into what might be the best Space Marine release in years.

The Main Event: Unboxing the Crux Terminatus Battleforce

Let me tell you, getting your hands on this box feels like Christmas morning. It’s heavy, it’s packed with plastic, and the art alone is enough to get your blood pumping. When you finally crack it open and lay out the sprues, the sheer scale of what you’re getting hits you. This isn’t just a random collection of units; it’s a cohesive, thematic, and utterly devastating fighting force. This is the heart of a Space Marine First Company, the elite of the elite, all in one place.

What you’re looking at is an entire elite army in a single box. It’s not a balanced starter set like a Combat Patrol; it’s a curated experience designed for one thing: fielding an unstoppable wall of ceramite. The value here isn’t just in the significant savings you get compared to buying these kits separately, but in the fact that you can build a powerful, thematically solid 775 to 1,000-point army straight out of this one purchase. For anyone who loves the look of Terminators, this is a dream come true.

Here’s a quick look at what you’re unleashing:

Spotlight: The New Assault Terminators Have Arrived!

Okay, let’s get to the real stars of the show: the brand-new, multipart Assault Terminators. These aren’t just a re-pack; they are a complete, ground-up resculpt, and they are glorious. For years, the classic Terminator models have looked a little… stout… next to their newer Primaris brethren. These new sculpts fix that entirely. They are bigger, more dynamically posed, and have the heroic proportions that a walking demigod in half-ton battle plate deserves. They finally look as terrifying on the tabletop as they are in the lore.

The kit gives you two distinct, brutally effective ways to build your squads. This is a classic dilemma for Space Marine commanders, so let’s break it down.

• Thunder Hammers & Storm Shields: The Unstoppable Anvil. This is your elite-killer and tank-buster loadout. A squad armed this way becomes a walking fortress. They advance relentlessly, shrugging off firepower that would fell lesser warriors, before bringing their thunder hammers down with enough force to crack open a Land Raider. In 10th Edition, the storm shield even grants the model an extra Wound, making them obscenely durable. If you need to smash something big and expensive, this is your tool for the job.
• Dual Lightning Claws: The Heretic Blender. If the hammer and shield is a sledgehammer, this loadout is a whirlwind of scalpels. Each Terminator armed with dual lightning claws becomes a vortex of death, perfect for slicing through hordes of Orks, Tyranids, or cultists. You will throw an absurd number of attacks, re-rolling to wound, and simply delete infantry squads from the board. It’s fast, it’s vicious, and it’s incredibly satisfying to watch your opponent remove handfuls of models at a time.

And for the painters out there? This kit is a gift. Each five-man squad comes with a wealth of customization options: six unhelmeted heads, five helmets, unique tilting plates for their shoulders, and 15 extra accessories like purity seals and honour badges. You can make every single model a unique hero, a veteran of a hundred campaigns.

Build Guide: Assembling Your First Terminator

Feeling intimidated by all that plastic? Don’t be. Building these new Terminators is a joy. Here’s a simple guide to get your first one ready for battle.

1. The Tools of the Techmarine: You only need a few basics. A pair of sprue clippers to remove the parts from the frame, a hobby knife to carefully clean up any remaining bits of plastic (we call these mold lines), and plastic glue to bond the pieces together.
2. Prep Work is Key: Before you glue anything, use the back of your hobby knife to gently scrape away the faint lines on the model’s surface. This small step makes a huge difference and ensures your paint job will be smooth and professional.
3. The Magic of Sub-Assemblies (Pro-Tip!): This sounds complicated, but it’s super easy and will make your life a hundred times better when you start painting. Instead of building the entire model at once, build it in a few separate pieces. For a Terminator, I recommend:
   • The legs and torso as one piece.
   • The head kept separate.
   • Each arm kept separate.

     Why? This lets you easily reach all the details, like that beautiful eagle on his chest that would otherwise be hidden behind his gun. You can paint everything perfectly and then glue it all together at the end.

4. Dry-Fit Before You Commit: Always test how the pieces fit together before you apply glue. This lets you check the pose and make sure there are no gaps. It’s the old “measure twice, cut once” rule, but for building miniatures.
5. Bringing It All Together: Start by gluing the two halves of the legs and the front and back of the torso. Once that’s solid, you can attach the arms and head (or keep them separate for painting, as we discussed!). Take your time, let the glue set, and enjoy watching your first elite warrior of the Imperium take shape.

A Legend Reborn: Marneus Calgar, Lord of Macragge

Just when you thought the box couldn’t get any better, Games Workshop drops this bombshell. Marneus Calgar, the legendary Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, is back. And he’s back in his most iconic look: the ancient and revered Armour of Antilochus.

This new model is, in a word, breathtaking. He’s striding forward with the legendary Gauntlets of Ultramar ready to pulverize anyone foolish enough to stand in his way. But this release is more than just a pretty new model; it’s a brilliant move that speaks volumes about the future of the Space Marine range.

Some of you might be scratching your heads, thinking, “Didn’t we just get a new Calgar model in 2018?” And you’re right, we did—in bulky Gravis armour. The fact that he’s returning now, in Terminator armour, is a deliberate and very clever choice. This isn’t a replacement; it’s a strategic “modernization of nostalgia.”

For veteran players, this model is a direct callback to the classic Calgar we grew up with, the one who defined the character for decades. But he’s not just a re-release; he’s been upscaled and re-proportioned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the new, larger Terminators. This new sculpt bridges the gap between the old Firstborn era and the new Primaris era. It’s a signal that the legacy of these iconic characters is being celebrated and preserved, updated for a new generation of players. He feels both timeless and perfectly suited for the modern battlefield.

Leading the Charge in 10th Edition

On the tabletop, Calgar is an absolute beast and a surprisingly flexible commander. Here’s what he brings to your army, in simple terms:

• Master Tactician: He’s a strategic genius, and his rules reflect that. At the start of your Command Phase, you simply gain 1 Command Point (CP). CPs are the resource you use to activate powerful abilities called Stratagems, so getting one for free, every single turn, is a massive advantage that fuels your entire army.
• Inspiring Leader: Calgar allows the squad he is leading to shoot and charge even after Advancing or Falling Back from combat. This gives his unit incredible tactical flexibility, letting them reposition and still unleash their full fury when other units would be forced to wait.
• Who Does He Lead? He’s the perfect leader for the Terminators in the Crux Terminatus box, creating a nigh-unkillable command brick. But he can also join a whole host of other units, like the Bladeguard Veterans from the Combat Patrol, making them even tougher. He is the ultimate force multiplier.

Your First Army: The Ultramarines Combat Patrol

If the massive Crux Terminatus box feels like diving into the deep end, then the new Ultramarines Combat Patrol is the perfect, welcoming entry point. This box is specifically designed to be the ideal start for a new player. It gives you a balanced, versatile force that you can use in the Combat Patrol game mode—a simplified version of Warhammer 40,000 that’s perfect for learning the ropes.

Here’s what you get to start your journey with the XIII Legion:

The Ultimate Glow-Up: The New Upgrade Sprue

Now, let’s talk about the secret weapon in this box. Included with all those amazing models is the brand-new Ultramarines Upgrade Sprue, and it is a game-changer. This single frame is packed with 69 individual parts—more than the last two upgrade packs combined.

This Combat Patrol is cleverly designed for two different audiences. For a brand-new player, it’s a fantastic, self-contained army that comes with everything you need to make your models look like true, decorated heroes of Macragge from day one. For a veteran player, this box is an amazing deal to get their hands on this incredible new upgrade sprue, plus a bunch of extra models to bolster their existing collection.

The sprue includes sculpted shoulder pads for almost every type of armour imaginable—Phobos, Tacticus, Gravis, Aggressor, Bladeguard, and even Terminator armour. There are unique helmets, vehicle accessories, and a massive transfer sheet with 255 individual decals. These aren’t just generic blue Space Marines anymore; with this kit, you can transform them into the decorated, celebrated warriors of the Ultramarines Chapter.

Painter’s Corner: 5 Steps to Macragge Blue Perfection

Ready to paint your new army? The classic Ultramarines scheme is iconic, striking, and surprisingly easy to achieve with a few simple steps. Here’s a beginner-friendly recipe to get that perfect Macragge Blue.

1. Prime with Purpose. Start by spraying your model with Macragge Blue spray paint. This acts as both your primer and your basecoat, saving you a ton of time and giving you a perfect, smooth foundation.
2. Shade for Depth. Take a shade paint like Nuln Oil (for a grittier look) or Drakenhof Nightshade (for a richer blue) and apply it all over the model, letting it run into the recesses and panel lines. This instantly creates shadows and makes the details pop.
3. Layer Up the Blue. Once the shade is dry, take your pot of Macragge Blue paint and re-apply it to the raised, flat panels of the armour, being careful to leave the darker shade in the recesses. After that, take a lighter blue like Calgar Blue and carefully paint all the sharp edges of the armour.
4. Final Pop! For that final, crisp highlight, take an even lighter colour like Fenrisian Grey and use a fine-tipped brush to paint just the very corners and most extreme points of the edges you highlighted in the last step. This will make the armour look incredibly sharp.
5. The Devil’s in the Details. Now for the fun part! Paint the gold trim with Retributor Armour, the gun casings and flexible joints with Abaddon Black and Corvus Black, the eye lenses with Mephiston Red, and the wax on the purity seals with Screamer Pink. These finishing touches are what bring the model to life.

Assembling Your Strike Force: From Boxes to Battlefield

So, how do all these incredible new releases fit together into a 10th Edition army? Beautifully.

Think of the Combat Patrol as the versatile Foundation of your army. It gives you a solid core of troops for holding objectives (Intercessors), specialists for dealing with different threats (Bladeguard and Aggressors), and a powerful psychic leader in Tigurius.

The Crux Terminatus Battleforce is your Hammer. This is your elite strike force, your surgical instrument of destruction. Thanks to their Deep Strike ability, they can teleport anywhere on the battlefield, appearing exactly where your opponent least expects them to smash their most valuable units to pieces.

And Marneus Calgar is the perfect Link between them. He can lead the Bladeguard from the Combat Patrol, turning them into a resilient bodyguard unit that can go toe-to-toe with anything. Or he can lead the Terminators from the Battleforce, creating a First Company command squad that is the stuff of nightmares. His ability to generate an extra Command Point every turn benefits your entire army, making every unit more effective. The entire release wave is designed to work together, allowing you to build a powerful, flexible, and deeply thematic Ultramarines army.

Courage and Honour! Your Watch Begins Now.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting release waves for Space Marine players in a long, long time. The Crux Terminatus box is an incredible collection of elite, upscaled models that form the core of a powerful army. The new Marneus Calgar is a stunning tribute to a classic character, perfectly bridging the gap between the army’s past and its future. And the new Combat Patrol, with its game-changing upgrade sprue, is the best starting point a new Ultramarines player could ever ask for.

Mark your calendars: these incredible new kits go up for pre-order on Saturday, October 25th, with a full release in stores on November 8th. A word of warning: Battleforces like the Crux Terminatus are often produced in limited quantities and tend to sell out fast, so don’t wait if you want to secure yours.

The Sons of Guilliman are marching to war, and they have never looked better.

Now I want to hear from you! What are you most excited about in this new wave? Are you picking up the Battleforce or starting with the Combat Patrol? And the ultimate question for your new Assault Terminators: will you be arming them with thunder hammers or lightning claws? Let me know in the comments below, and show me your freshly painted blue boys on social media with the hashtag #MarchForMacragge!