The ongoing narrative is a huge part of Warhammer 40,000’s worldbuilding, and that’s never been more true than in recent years. Since the fall of Cadia and the rift that split the universe apart, Games Workshop has excelled in keeping things moving. While nothing has eclipsed that moment, the machinations of Chaos and the return of multiple Primarchs have increased the stakes, and it seems that galactic war is coming to another head in the culmination of Pariah Nexus.
One key factor to remember in Workshop’s storytelling is that it is bound by restrictions that most science fiction writers don’t have. It can’t kill off any of its major characters because players have bought the tabletop models to represent them. While I’m gutted that the Dark Angels lost the Deathwing Command Squad, Games Workshop doesn’t often sunset entire model ranges. Main characters with recent, shiny models like Roboute Guilliman have the thickest plot armour imaginable, and yet Workshop still manages to craft a tense and exciting story.
Seeing as Games Workshop can’t raise the stakes for individual characters, it does so on a galactic level. If you haven’t been keeping up with Pariah Nexus thus far, we’ve got time for a quick recap.
You may remember the Kill Team box called Pariah Nexus, the campaign book also called Pariah Nexus, or the Warhammer+ TV series, which was called Pariah Nexus too. Brand synergy, huh. If you bought all these, read every word and watched every second of juicy Pariah Nexus lore, skip the next paragraph. If not, here are the biggest points.
Pariah Nexus follows the rise of an ancient Necron dynasty in the Nephilim Sector. The Necrons are engaged in a civil war, with The Silent King Szarekh and Imotekh the Stormlord lead opposing forces against each other in order to wrest control of the sector. The pair have very different ideas of what the Necrons should be.
Meanwhile, Belisarius Cawl is marching the Indomitus Crusade into the area, because he and his legion of experimental Tech Priests want to get their hands on as much noctilith (better known as blackstone) as possible. He hopes to use it to close the Great Rift. However, it comes at a price.
Cawl’s excavations divert the Necrons’ attention away from each other, making him enemy number one. As they prepare to attack, however, Cawl uses some of his illegal weapons that hail from the Dark Age of Technology, and threatens to rip realspace apart. Vashtorr and his Chaos legions tear through the Warp and into reality, creating yet another threat in the area.
Meanwhile, Guilliman is on his way to sort out the Necron problem himself. I suspect Lion el’Jonson secret missions with the Risen will take him to the Nexus too – especially since Vashtorr’s arrival – and, in the latest issue of White Dwarf, Inquisitor Coteaz is assessing the situation, too. If the Inquisition arrives to supplement the Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, and Astra Militarum forces, who knows what could happen.
The story is about to reach its apex, and things couldn’t be more exciting. Could they? Let’s consider the narrative implications of this first. The Lion and Guilliman will meet. The Emperor’s sword, who recently went toe-to-toe with Angron, and his accountant have a lot of catching up to do. But other than that, they need a foe worth fighting. Is Vashtorr that foe? Even though he and el’Jonson have bad blood, the Arkifane is outclassed in combat. Perhaps a demon Primarch may have joined his forces. I’m not saying Perturabo will return, but I’m not not saying that.
This is exciting, but I’m most looking forward to the new miniatures that will emerge from the fighting. A new demon Primarch would be a great centrepiece for Chaos players, but I’ve long thought that the Dark Mechanicus should be represented on the tabletop, and Vashtorr’s forces would be the perfect basis for the evil engineers.
All of this is to say that the universe is about to end as Necrons, Inquisitors, and everyone in between all amass for one of the story’s biggest blowouts so far, and we get to build the armies responsible. Warhammer 40K has never been better.
