Yeah that is a real screenshot and not a shop, was in the beta.
Glad I'm not the only one who hates the Dorn. I'm mega choosy about units, to the point where I won't even look at the datasheets for models I hate. I will never use a Taurox, Rogal Dorn, Bullgryn or rough rider unit ever. No matter how OP they become. The Dorn doesn't fit with the guard aesthetic at all, so for my centerpiece heavy tank I finally got a Malcador. Even though the Malc still looks dumb as hell, at least it fits with the army.
So far I've seen the twittertards dismiss it with some variation of "But Space Wolves are retarded, so he obviously doesn't know what he is talking about"
Well how about that, a Space Wolf being based instead of cringe for a changed.
This is definitely what should happen. It's a convenient continuation of what we already know well about the two characters and their relationship from the Horus Heresy, and it's a more entertaining shakeup to the modern 40k setting rather than the Lion simply sliding into Guilliman's direction for the Imperium. This also benefits the tabletop game itself because the vast majority of players have Imperium armies and need more narrative excuses to battle with each other, especially since GW has been trying to bring attention to narrative play. While I don't see Guilliman and the Lion coming to such violent blows with each other, having each heir of the Imperium try to hog as many resources and allegiances as possible to his personal agenda will certainly cause more friction that can turn into intra-Imperium skirmishes on the micro level.
The Sisters of Battle are irrelevant to the whiners because Space Marines are the main characters of 40k that must be brought to heel, and getting GW to acquiesce to this demand will give the ultimate power trip to fandom invaders. In more recent years, it also seems that the whining for female Space Marines, or rather more specifically for denying male-exclusive Space Marines (see the recent HH 2.0 rulebook "controversy"), has more to do with validating trannies than anything do to with women.
I think you hit on the main point here with the unchanging status quo - their target audience for these are people in a 5 year life cycle, ages 13-18. Then they go to college or discover girls and ditch warhammer. So by the time ppl get sick of the same boring grimdark status quo they’ve aged out. The people that do stick around are like trek fans and they are there precisely because they want something exactly like their childhood memories.
Just thought of a curveball. Vashtorr and his little copy of Caliban make their way through the webway into Commoragh. Shit starts going sideways for the Dark Eldar until Vect comes out to say "get the fuck out of my city". He does some fighting with your standard CSM, but when the heavy hitters like Vashtorr and Abbadon come to face him, he knows he's physically outmatched so hereveals a trump card to deal with them; a mind controlled Jhagatai Khan.
A story reserved for at least a decade down the road. Leman Russ will obviously be the next loyalist primarch to return, and even with him aside, there are still plenty of other priorities over the Khan. Both the Imperial Fists and Salamanders are much more popular than White Scars, and I can even imagine GW coming up with some way for Sanguinius to return before the Khan.
Reinstalling now, fingers crossed.
I've been too hard on Space Wolves.
Looking at the data sheet with a chainsword a squad of 10 could throw 40 strength 4 ap -1 attacks at a squad and do quite a lot of damage. You could also give the champion and another member of the squad a heavy melee weapon which would be 3 attacks at strength 8 ap -2 and 2 wounds.
