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Warhammer 40K introduces new Chaos Space Marines, with Abaddon leading the pack

The Sisters of Battle can’t be far behind

Abaddon the Despoiler, unveiled in March 2019 by Games Workshop. Warhammer 40,000. Games Workshop
Charlie Hall is Polygon’s tabletop editor. In 10-plus years as a journalist & photographer, he has covered simulation, strategy, and spacefaring games, as well as public policy.

Games Workshop is on an absolute tear. Through 2018, the hobby games giant saw its profits double, in part thanks to the refresh of its venerable Warhammer 40,000 line of miniatures. This year it shows no sign of slowing down, as exemplified by a fresh new wave of reimagined Chaos Space Marines.

The first big batch of new Chaos Marines landed late last year, bundled in with Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress, a hybrid of a traditional board game and a tactical wargame that I reviewed in December. Now, on the official Warhammer Community website, they’ve unveiled the leader of the pack — Abaddon the Despoiler himself.

From the announcement:

Abaddon is an integral part of Warhammer history — the star of countless books, campaigns and tabletop battles, this legendary overlord is perhaps second only to the Emperor as an icon of the 41st Millennium, and he definitely gets out more. The Warmaster has been one of the chief architects of the Imperium’s current woes, and it’s only fitting that he returns now with a new model.

Abaddon the Despoiler, unveiled in March 2019 by Games Workshop. Warhammer 40,000. Games Workshop

For this model, GW is pulling out all the stops. A scale drawing shows that the figure is fully twice as large as your average Space Marine, and comes complete with an optional cape and three different heads to choose from. The base even includes an enemy, his ceramite armor crushed beneath Abaddon’s boot and his torso pressed into the soil below a pile of bolter shells. As large as it is, the whole thing looks like it will be a dream to paint up.

The announcement of Abaddon comes on the heels of a boatload of new chaos miniatures revealed in early February. They include the Master of Possessions, a selection of tactical marines, an Obliterator (essentially a Chaos Dreadnought), and a new insect-like Daemon Engine.

Other releases from just the last few months include Sly Marbo, a distinctly 1980s-themed take on an Imperial Guardsman, and Sevarina Raine, the first named female Commissar in an otherwise male-dominated faction. And let us not forget the fan favorite Noise Marine, whose combi-bolter also includes a truly demonic axe in the form of a six-stringed electric guitar.

More is on the way, however. Fans are gearing up at the moment for the expected release of additional information on new models for the Sisters of Battle. Also known as the Adepta Sororitas, the community has been practically pleading with Games Workshop to bring out a new set in plastic for years.

Expect to know more in the lead up to Adepticon, the tabletop gaming convention taking place March 27-31 in Schaumburg, Illinois.

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