Warhammer 40K: A Tease of Things To Come – Return to Chalnath
Games Workshop is revisiting the Chalnath Expanse with a return to the War For Hearts and Minds in Warhammer 40,000.
Get ready for a blast from the past as GW dusts off War Zone Chalnath. If that name is vaguely familiar to you that’s because it’s from the Psychic Awakening event waaaaay back in the before times of January 2020. Specifically, it was from the book Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good. So yes, this one is a deep cut.
Anyhow, GW has a new bit of lore coming from this sector. This seems like it’s going to be an ongoing thing and this is the first bit from the ‘Chalnath Dispatches’ series.
Return to Chalnath
You can read the full lore entry here. I recommend you do that first so here’s a bit of a spoiler warning because we’re going to be talking about what this means.
Still here? Okay, let’s get into it.
The basic premise of this story is that a group of Imperial Commanders are talking about the situation in Chalanth. It doesn’t sound good. The T’au are advancing (likely under the leadership of Commander Shadowsun) and they are threatening to take a planet dubbed Vulkus. This planet has the mysterious Alpha Asset — which might be an important McGuffin.
However, it’s not just a fight between the Imperium and T’au. That’s part of the reason the Imperial Commanders are struggling with getting reinforcements into the system.
“> Rear Admiral Chellon-de-Gause: <vocal patterns defensive> Out of the question, Lord Marshal. The xenocult sabotage at [REDACTED] shipyards cost us two cruisers. The [REDACTED] warp channel has all but collapsed and the empyrean churns like a damned cauldron. Without the light of the Astronomican to guide us, we cannot commit a flotilla of sufficient size to counter the T’au threat to Volkus. The risks would simply be too high. “
That Xenocult? Yeah — that’s the Genestealer Cult causing problems. That’s actually the reason I remember this particular war so well. On top of that, it sure sounds like there might be some new players entering the fray. Those warp storms could be due to a particular Tyranid fleet coming to the area. And things are sounding bad.
Tempestus To The Rescue?
The commanders decide to call in a new asset. “[CODE PHRASE OVERLAY DRAKUS FEROCITOR] ” is being tapped. Who could this be? Well…
“Tempestor Magnificat Westren has a one hundred percent combat effectiveness record. Her forces only just committed to the war on Wyldreach and could be rapidly extracted with minimal disruption. “
Are we about to see the Tempestus Scions show back up in 40k?! I mean, technically they haven’t really been gone or anything. But they haven’t exactly been a huge part of the Imperial line-up recently either.
And considering we have the new looking Shock Troopers, these Scions are looking a little dated. Perhaps GW is teasing an updated kit for them with this lore. A new/revisited War Zone would be a perfect place to drop in an updated unit box or two without having to do a complete re-launch.
I’m not really sure what direction GW is taking this. All we know for sure is that we’re heading back to a sector that hasn’t really been on the radar since the Kill Team Box that features the Sisters vs T’au. But really hasn’t been a big focus since the Psychic Awakening.
What do you think Games Workshop is up to? Let us know your theories in the comments!
Update: Commentor Jeffery Isaak in the comments section has also mentioned that the Grand Narrative event at the Tacoma Open is set in the Chalnath Expanse, too. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm that from the WarCom posts about the event. So if you’re going chime in and let us know in the comments!
Shout out to the Mordian Heavy Infantry. We’ve ALL been waiting for you to get reinforcements for thirty-nine cycles…
