Space Marine Datasheets Show What the New Codex Is Actually Trying to Do
The new Space Marine codex is almost here, and after several days of looking at army rules and detachments, Games Workshop has finally started showing us what actually matters once models hit the table: the datasheets.
The first batch covers Roboute Guilliman, Librarians, Sternguard Veterans, and Terminators. More importantly, it gives us a much better idea of how Space Marines are being rebuilt for 11th Edition. This is not simply a round of stat increases. The army is getting more decisions to make during the game, and several units are becoming noticeably better at the jobs they are supposed to perform.
Guilliman Is Becoming a Walking Command Center
Roboute Guilliman is probably the clearest example.
The new Combat Doctrines rule normally forces Space Marine players to choose when they want access to Assault, Tactical, or Devastator Doctrine. Guilliman simply has all three active at all times. He can Advance and charge, Fall Back and still shoot or charge, and fire ranged weapons after Advancing without needing to spend the army's limited doctrine uses on himself.
That would already be substantial, but his real value looks like it may come from everything happening around him.
His Primarch of the XIII aura allows nearby Adeptus Astartes units to re-roll hit rolls and wound rolls of 1, while Author of the Codex lets him place an additional Combat Doctrine on a nearby unit. The result is a Primarch that looks much more like the strategic centerpiece of an Ultramarines army instead of simply an extremely expensive melee threat.
He can still hit things very hard. That part has not gone anywhere.
Librarians Finally Feel Like Psykers Again
The Librarian may be the more interesting reveal from a design standpoint.
The psychic system introduced with the new Ork codex is now showing what it can do in a Space Marine army. Librarians have a Psyker Level and access to multiple abilities instead of psychic powers being reduced to a single passive rule or weapon profile.
The standard Librarian shown by GW can use Veil of Time to maximize an Advance roll or Force Dome to grant his unit a 4+ Invulnerable Save. Both require a psychic roll, and rolling a 1 causes the unit to become Battle-shocked.
That is a much more interesting tradeoff.
You are not simply checking whether your Librarian's ability is switched on. You are deciding whether the situation is important enough to risk using it and which effect is more valuable at that moment. Phobos and Terminator Librarians will have their own options as well, giving the different versions an actual battlefield identity rather than merely changing which unit they can accompany.
Sternguard Get the Gun Cabinet Back
Sternguard Veterans may have received our favorite change in this preview.
Instead of treating their collection of specialist bolters and combi-weapons as essentially one weapon, their new Artificer Firearm has three firing profiles: Infernus, Purgatus, and Damnatus.
Infernus is the volume-fire option, Purgatus offers a harder-hitting intermediate profile, and Damnatus turns the weapon into a short-ranged anti-heavy option with Melta 2 and D3+2 damage.
That is exactly the kind of rule we like seeing on veteran units.
Sternguard are supposed to be experienced Space Marines carrying specialized ammunition and equipment for different targets. Giving the player a meaningful choice every time the squad fires reinforces that identity without requiring three separate units or a pile of additional bookkeeping.
They also retain access to Heavy Bolters and Pyrecannons, while Veteran Marksmen allows the unit to re-roll hit rolls of 1.
Terminators Are Getting Meaner at Close Range
Terminators also received some substantial adjustments.
They are now Toughness 6, their Storm Bolters hit harder, and Fury of the First gives their attacks an additional point of AP against targets within 9". That means the Assault Cannon shown on the datasheet effectively reaches AP -3 at close range while retaining Sustained Hits 1.
Chainfists are becoming more interesting as well.
Players can choose between a standard profile and a Hunter profile when fighting Vehicles or Monsters. The Hunter attack trades volume for significantly more Strength, accuracy, and damage, giving Terminators a dedicated way to threaten genuinely heavy targets instead of simply hoping their normal attacks are enough.
Teleport Homers also remain part of the unit's identity, interacting with Rapid Ingress to help Terminators arrive closer to their homer while reducing the Stratagem's cost.
Our Take
The encouraging part of this preview is not that Space Marines have received bigger numbers.
It is that these datasheets appear to be asking players to make more decisions.
Guilliman manipulates doctrines. Librarians choose psychic abilities and accept risk. Sternguard select ammunition according to their target. Terminators can switch their chainfists into a dedicated monster and vehicle hunting profile.
That is generally a healthier direction than simply giving every unit another point of Strength or another reroll.
There is still a lot we do not know. Points will matter enormously, as will the interaction between these datasheets and the 15 detachments revealed for the new codex. A powerful datasheet at the wrong price can disappear from competitive armies just as easily as an average unit at the right price can become a staple.
For now, however, the new Space Marine codex looks less interested in making Marines universally stronger and more interested in making individual units feel like they have a reason to exist.
For an army with as many datasheets as the Adeptus Astartes, that may be the more important change.
