Are these warbonds paid dlc or can they be obtained by playing?

Short answer is yes haha

You can obtain them by purchasing super credits or by finding super credits in game, normal warbonds are 1000 SC, the legendary ones are 1500.

Looks neat, even to someone outside the WH40K fandom - the armors look kinda ugly to me but the passive is straight up democratic

While you can pay for credits, it is very simple to collect supercredits, even playing solo on Trivial and Easy levels.

Once the warbond is purchased, the items can only be unlocked with Medals. These are only gained by playing the game.

I’d like to add that earning the currency in-game isn’t some huge grind. Playing somewhat regularly typically nets enough Super Credits (the premium currency) to buy the regular warbonds as they’re released.

A bit afraid, it looks mostly good but I worry about power creep, the passive seems insanely strong, and the weapons seem at least good. I guess we'll see ! I hope this isn't a Democratic detonation 2 situation, where it becomes almost indispensible to have for any good loadouts (and I say this as an eruptor enjoyer)

I agree with this sentiment, and you also receive around 400+ super credits back in every warbond making the grind for the next bit that much quicker.

If your mega into the game and play every day,(like me) there is no grind. By the time a war bonds out, your probably 200sc away from affording it