Primaris Lieutenant (Agastus) Review

Released alongside the Desolation Marines and the Brutalis Dreadnought in the Strike Force Agastus boxset earlier in the year, this latest Primaris Lieutenant is the first to feature wargear options within the kit and is also the first Primaris Lieutenant kit to include a powerfist. 

 

 Credit: Warhammer Community, Games Workshop

For the right arm, the kit includes a powersword, a powerfist, or a pointing hand. For the left arm, it includes a plasma pistol (with bionic hand and forearm), a heavy bolt pistol, and a master-crafted bolt rifle (with the parts to make it either a standard, auto, or stalker variant). In terms of aesthetic options, it comes with an optional tilting plate as many Primaris infantry kits do, the option for helmeted or bare head, and then either some cloth or leather straps to dangle from the crotch. It is likely that the master-crafted bolt rifle will also become a purely aesthetic option come the new edition but we will need to wait and see.

As mentioned above, this is the first Primaris Lieutenant to allow for a powerfist option, but it also allows the use of a standard master-crafted bolt rifle for the first time, and the plasma pistol option is no longer tied to Dark Angels specifically thanks to this kit. Notable omissions for the wargear are the neo-volkite pistol & storm shield options and the standard bolt pistol. The neo-volkite pistol and stormshield pieces are best sourced from the Bladeguard Veteran kit if you wish to use this kit and the bolt pistol can be obtained from a variety of Primaris infantry kits, but is unlikely to be a concern given it is (for now at least) a strictly worse option than the heavy bolt pistol and one that is, ultimately, not particularly visually distinct. The neo-volkite pistol and stormshield loadout is currently available as the Primaris Lieutenant from the current starter sets and that kit will likely see a standalone release alongside the next Space Marine codex given it comes on its own individual sprue.

The quality of the actual pieces are as you would expect from a modern Games Workshop kit and there is little to complain about there. Some might have quibbles over the use of the small tactical rock that is required given the posing of the legs, and there is nothing particularly interesting about the bare head that is provided but I would not imagine they will be big issues for most. The parts all connect to the sprue in logical places with the exception of the backpack which connects to the rounded bits of the exhaust ports. This is common among a lot of Primaris infantry kits and can be awkward to clean up without flattening some of the curve.

The plethora of Primaris Lieutenant releases has become something of a joke amongst the community and most marine players likely have at least one or two in their collection. I am no different in that regard and for this reason I have assembled mine with the powerfist given it is the melee weapon I do not yet have a Primaris Lieutenant equipped with. I will wait until the new Space Marine codex is released later this year before deciding on the ranged weapon but I would imagine the heavy bolt pistol or the master-crafted bolt rifle will both be safe bets.

All in all, this is a good quality kit for the Primaris range and a welcome addition. Memes aside, the availability of the various different Primaris Lieutenant models has been somewhat of a problem, with many being tied to limited releases or starter kits. One kit that builds most options is great and the flat joins on the arms makes it extremely customisable with other marine kits.

 

Progress made on my Primaris Lieutenant, and how he will remain for the next few months 

 

In game, the Primaris Lieutenant's main purpose is to provide a cheap 6" aura of re-rolls for wound rolls of 1, but this is set to change in the new edition and it has already been previewed by the Warhammer Community team. In the new edition, Primaris Lieutenants will be able to permanently join a squad of 'standard' power armoured Primaris infantry and will cause that unit to automatically wound their target on a hit roll of 6. He also grants them the ability to shoot and charge in a turn in which they Fell Back. These are both powerful abilities in the right situation but we will need to wait until we see the book before we can determine whether he will be worth taking in the next edition. The loss of the aura effect and being tied to only specific units may well hurt his chances of seeing the table.