As Space Marine variants make up the majority of armies within Warhammer 40,000, it’s generally wise to construct your army assuming you will be battling them at some point. Many of the units that were good at killing Space Marines are still good at it. Brôkhyr Thunderkyn, Doomsday Arks, Howling Banshees, Riptides, and Knight Despoilers will continue to cause problems for the Adeptus Astartes.
So having broken down what the impacts are, what are the upsides to this change for you?
As we’ve said, there are going to be fewer Space Marine bodies actually on the battlefield, which will change how they approach the game. They won’t be able to trade** for objectives as well as many non-Space Marine armies, and they will find it more challenging to hold down objectives and safely achieve secondary objectives. More horde-focussed armies such as Astra Militarum, Drukhari, and Genestealer Cults will be better equipped to trade bodies into the brutal meat grinder for that sweet victory.
The increase in strength to boltguns and chainswords has mixed degrees of value against your armies. For the average Human, Aeldari, Leman Russ, or Goliath Rock Grinder, this change means nothing, as it’s not enough to improve their odds to wound against these types of targets.