Warhammer 40K: Which Loyalist Primarch Will Answer The Call Next?

Robute Guilliman and Lion El’Jonson are the only two loyalist Primarchs around and they need some back-up from their brothers.

There are currently two loyalist Primarchs in 40k that can take to the field: Guilliman and The Lion. Just when the odds were getting slightly better for the loyalists Fulgrim decided to rear his snake-like visage. Now we’re back to Chaos Primarchs having the upper hand. Well, more of an upper hand. The loyalists are outnumbered and, at this point, out gunned. Heck, Chaos also has Abaddon and Yashtorr running around, too! It’s time to call in some Brother Primarchs to even the scales. But who can answer the call?

Primarchs – KIA

Unfortunately, there are some Primarchs that are quite dead. That makes their surprise return highly unlikely. Here’s a quick list and a brief history for each.

Ferrus Manus – Beheaded

Sorry, there’s no “Save Ferrus” campaign for this one. He was beheaded by Fulgrim during the Horus Heresy. His head was then delivered to the Warmaster Horus by the Possessed Fulgrim. So yeah…Unless chaos clones him and we get an “evil” Ferrus Manus, his return is highly unlikely.

Sanguinius – Killed by Horus

I don’t think I need to get into too much detail with this one. Sanguinius’ death is kind of a pivotal moment during the Horus Heresy. It’s also the reason for the Black Rage within the Blood Angels. The Imperium also has his body. So yeah. He’s dead. And the body is confirmed dead. So, unless there’s some (more than) divine intervention here, he’s staying down.

Personally, I do think he could come back if GW really wanted to make him return. I’ll leave that up to the writers on exactly how they’d do it. But if you’ve got a body then you’ve got a way to enable a resurrection.

Primarchs – MIA

The rest of these Primarchs are missing in action. Some are presumed dead. Others…not so much. Let’s get into those.

Rogal Dorn – Presumed Dead

So Dorn was “killed” when a chaos fleet attacked. He lead a strike onto the  Despoiler Class Battleship Sword of Sacrilege and went missing. The only thing that was recovered was his hand. That hand is being kept in stasis by the Imperial Fist Chapter.

Does that mean he’s dead? Personally, I’m not convinced. I think he could come back if GW wanted to bring him back. Unfortunately, GW also recently introduced the Rogal Dorn Battle Tank in honor of the Primarch. So I actually don’t think he’s coming back any time soon.

Jaghatai Khan – Missing in the Webway

Khan was lost within the webway after a fateful encounter with some Dark Eldar Pirate Raiders. Again, I’m still leaning towards the “no body, no death” theory here. Could he have been running around in the webway for 10,000 years? Maybe the Aeldari or the Ynarri can help the Imperium out here…

Corvus Corax – Missing In The Eye of Terror

So, after locking himself in a tower for a year, Corax decided that he’d rather lead an attack direct into the Eye of Terror and hunt down traitor Primarchs instead of stick around. I feel like he went from zero to 100 on the activity scale. Anyhow, he loaded up his ship and went in. He swore to hunt down Logar, the Daemon Primarch. Again, no body then no death! And the Warp is wonky when it comes to time. Perhaps Corax will make it out one day. Until then…

Vulkan – Presumed Dead*

*But he’s a Perpetual! There’s lots of theories about this one. While he was “killed” during the War of the Beast, the assumption is that he’s been in hiding ever sense. Why? Unclear! Maybe he’s just taking a break. And look, he earned it. He (apparently) left a trail of nine artefacts of Vulkan and once the Salamanders gather those, he’ll return. Just like the Perpetual he is!

Leman Russ – Missing in the Eye of Terror

Russ also decide to head to the Eye of Terror and do some damage. He swore to return during the Wolf Time (aka the End Time). So maybe him returning isn’t a good thing. Also, it’s rumored that Magnus actually knows his location. So Russ is technically still kicking! Maybe he’ll come out to play soon now that his other rival (The Lion) has returned. Surely Leman Russ won’t be shown-up by The Lion again, right?!

Who’s Likely To Return?

So, let’s get back to the main question at the top. Now that we kind of know the status of these Primarchs, can we make an educated guess as to who’s likely to return?

If I had to pick, my first choice would be for Leman Russ followed by Sanguinius. And the main reason why is simple: Their Chapters have Codexes. This is all based on purely business-related reasoning. Again, lore-wise, GW could pull any of these guys out of hat and bring them back. Even Ferrus Manus — they’d have to get REAL creative with the writing…but it’s possible.

But, on the business side of things, it’s a matter of product lines. It made sense for Guilliman as he’s the Ultramarines Primarch. He’s the “default” option just like the Ultramarines. It makes sense for the Lion — The Dark Angels are one of the “Big Four” Space Marine Chapters. Just like Space Wolves and Blood Angels. So, again, that’s why I think Russ is likely to return. Or Sanguinius is going to come back due to some “wacky Space Magic hijinks.”

I could still see a case for any of the other Primarchs, too. And if GW suddenly starts promoting one of the other Chapters with a new codex and (more importantly) Chapters Specific units, then I might take note. Until then…It’s team Space Werewolves and Space Vampires.

Which loyalist Primarch do you want to see return next?

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

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