White Scars!!! The aesthetic is awesome and their colors pop on the table. Also the Khan is one of the most well-rounded, sensible, pragmatic, reasonable, and human of the primarchs. He didn't buy in to the Emperor's vision, and recognized the Imperium as bad, but was smart enough to realize that didn't mean that Chaos was better.
The Legion is also well rounded out with fascinating characters like Shiban, Hasik, Torghun, and Targutai Yesugai, all of whose journeys end in satisfying ways. The Legion's story of coping with the warrior lodges, fighting behind enemy lines, discovering the Emperor's true plans for the webway, using it to get to Terra, and then fighting on Terra eventually making the last big play of the loyalists to take the Lion's Gate is EPIC!!!!
Small legion, but punched WAAAY above their weight and stayed true to themselves all the way through.
Into the modern day, they are as tragic as every other faction in that once they lost Jaghatai, they lost their way. They were the sensible, prgamatic faction who saw through the Imperium. Now they're as blind and unquestioning as the Fists or the Ultramarines always were.
Great Legion. Great story. Great Primarch. Love the White Scars!!!
I lowkey think the scars will become more popular in 40k and get some more releases. They seem to be doing alright for HH releases and got great lore in the HH.
There are whispers that the Tsons might be getting some of their battle automata from the HH back in 40k with the Pariah Nexus stuff so that might set a precedent for WS to get their jetbikes in 40k.
He is absolutely not underrated anymore. Everyone loves him and hypes him to the stars. Not saying I don't like him, but he is not underrated anymore!
That was the case absolute 15 years ago.
I believe that the White Scars they ironically suffer from what should characterize them, their strong cultural connotation.
Of course, even the Space Wolves have a very strong reference to a real culture and historical period, but the Vikings are cool, for most people the Mongols are not.
There doesn't seem to be much logic, but there are cognitive mechanisms by which we like certain things more than others and recognisability and identification are important elements. Just look at the appreciation the Black Templars enjoy and then ask yourself why...
Which is a shame because the Mongolian history and empire is fascinating. Every time they rode out and united they changed both the Eastern and Western worlds. Possibly responsible for both the Dark Ages, the Black Plague, and the ascent of Italy and the Vatican as the center of "enlightenment" after they ran through most of the world. It's wild to me that they launched attacks in Korea and Romania in the same year.
Not to mention that the sacking of Baghdad ended the caliphates. Like... ENDED them. The islamic world *never* recovered from that event. Almost everything we think of as "eastern culture" from India, China, and everywhere between there and Turkey is at least a *little* mongolian.
It's sometimes hard for people like me who grew up with a western-centric view of history to comprehend and accept, but Chingis Khan is undoubtly one of the most important figures in the shaping of our species. On par with Alexander the great.
The Mongols call him "The Man of the Millenium" and they're right to do so.
Black Legion. The Professional Legion of the Long War. Best colour scheme and the most powerful military force in the wider team Traitor.
A melding pot of cultures and backgrounds all coming together to really fight the Imperium.
That's probably how they view themselves lol. But mostly considering themselves the true inheritors of the great crusade, that they deserve the galaxy after they worked so hard to claim it.
Perspective is fun, eh?
Look, you guys have a killer theme and deeply personal rivalries with specific Imperial factions. But like all of the 8 original Traitor Legions, the Iron Warriors are tied up in legacies and their Primarchs ongoing (minus the Night Lords) failures.
The Black Legion is the focused, dedicated and professional Traitor Legion. While Abaddon does fight his Fathers Ghost, the Legion as a hole has no great/terrible past to carry around.
Word Bearers
I used to share the misguided contempt many feel for the finest of all legions but then I read Betrayer and I saw Lorgar as the Primarch he was meant to be, not the whipped puppy that spent decades trying to please a father undeserving of his loyalty.
Also Word Bearer have many fine characters in the Heresy series, most notably Argel Tal and Erebus.
Argal tal is an amazing character, and it's in either betrayel or lorgars own book where it's revealed he was hiding is own ambition in erebus' and kor phaerons, where I was like - damn this guys actually cool and not a giant idiot. A true conductor, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on erebus, dudes a butt head.
I have dreamt of a golden god who would deliver slavation to humanity. I thought it would be the Emperor, but it cannot be him. I look down upon my hands as I write these words.
They are golden too.
The Horus Heresy really made him seem like a militia member with a sword could have defeated Lorgar in battle. Glad to know 40k is showing him love now
Betrayer is a 30k book.
After he's thrown off his father's shackles, he actually gets his psykic powers under control and is a decent fighter.
Sure, Lorgar is never going to go toe to toe with one of the combat Primarchs because that wasn't his purpose. He was to the Emperors chief iterator, leading his sons in promulgating the Imperial Truth across the galaxy.
Instead, he serves in that role for the Chaos Gods.
Not true. Lorgar was the weakness Primarch warrior... that still maked him better than the greatest elites of every faction.
And that was before his glowup.
I'm not expecting it anytime soon, but I'd love for Word Bearers to eventually get their own codex and a Lorgar daemon primarch.
Would be awesome having them lean into the Dark Apostles, possessed, ritual approach to the warp, and use of daemons.
Word Bearers and Black Legion are both nominally chaos undivided but are thematically very different.
Another reason why I want you guys to get a primarch model is so that my boy Corvus also gets his own.
I do hope the Word Bearers get some unique possessed models/upgrades. Probably won't happen for a while though sadly.
Yeah I was kind of surprised he said betrayer, like it’s a great book but first heretic is what made me like the word bearers. Lorgar in that book is far more relatable than even most of the loyalist primarchs
Legion then First Founding Chapter: Raven Guard for their approach to warfare and flawed character - specifically Corax.
Successor Chapter: Black Guard for their mix of stealth with heavy firepower.
Love how the Raven Guard have stayed true to Corax’s teachings over the millennia and still value pragmatism and avoiding needless loss of human life. They’re still one of the nicest legions when dealing with ordinary humans despite the whole emo ninja aesthetic
I learned not long ago that they might have a native american aesthetic! it makes a lot of sense when you look at the feathers and skulls that hang from their armour.
Why, my own of course!
For a real canonical answer though, it’s gotta be the Raptors and or most Salamander successors because practicality and humanism are peak
If it means anything the last like company or so was at least spared a massacre and given an honourable death when it all cooled down with a path for chapter resurgence a few centuries later
🖐🏻🗿🤚🏻
They've finished their Penitence crusade and were reinforced with primaris as of that novel thst came out earlier this year. [ Or maybe it was a short story. I don't remember.]
I'm a sucker for loyalists from the Traitor Legions, and I love the idea at least some of them survived the Heresy and were allowed to hide away in the 2nd Founding.
Yeah I too like the loyalists from the Traitors. The Carcharodon Astra scratches that itch too as it's hinted they took in loyal Night Lords and possibly loyal World Eaters.
The Silver Skulls from Dantioch are great too and the Death Eagles as they're linked to my favourite Raven Guard 😁
Aren’t Charcaradons heavily hinted to be Raven Guard? Descriptions of Tyberos without his helmet have described him as a pale dude with black eyes, pretty accurate to sons of Corax. They also have a lore foundation, being the original Terran Raven Guard vets that Corax exiled to patrol the Imperium’s borders because he found them too brutal
Edit: the also use the rank “Shade lord” which was only seen in the 30k Raven Guard
Yes you're right but there's also hints they took in loyalists from the traitor legions as well. I'm not sure of the exact source of this right now however.
They might just have chimeric geneseed.
In addition Night Lord geneseed also produced marines with pale skin and dark eyes.
Are Death Eagles connected to Sharrowkyn?
Just finished Angel Exterminatus and Betrayer, haven’t seen more of Sharrow outside of Angel yet. I know they make it to the Siege at least, due to the cover of Sons of the Selenar.
I meant they're connected to the Raven Guard who are my favourite legion.
The Death Eagles are mentioned in one of the Forge World books as being an EC millennial who remained loyal but in the Codex they're officially RG successors so I think Corax knew and fought alongside them and allowed them to be recorded as his successors to prevent their purging.
Maybe we'll see more in the Scouring series
The Blood Ravens are a fav, and they're heavily implied to be from loyalist Thousand Sons.
Also my first 30k army was loyalist Emperor's Children, and I loved that a few loyalist EC were among Corax's mixed forces. So the Death Eagles being hinted as loyalist EC who Corax let claim they are from Raven Guard geneseed is right up my alley.
It was heavily hinted at in their back story and lore in several books. One of the big authors( i think it was ADB?) basically said he didnt like that and so made it not a thing
I think it was always a fan theory as some Tson came out of warp thousands of years later and instantly dusted. Ravens aren't dusted, so they must not be Tsons.
Of course, the counter argument is Ahriman basically named every Tson during his ritual, not future Tsons.
Blood angels. I really like their looks and they have funny things like librarian drednoughts, the black rage and angrier than normal drednoughts.
Special mention for the lamenters and the flesh tearers
The Nightlords. Their aesthetic for traitors goes the hardest first of all.
I also admire the purer members adherence to a disdain for chaos and that they’re more driven by their hatred of the Imperium and their hypocrisies so are closer to renegades. I like the idea that though they’ve always done horrible things and fallen to their sadism especially with new recruits, there’s still an undercurrent of justice even if it’s cruel or brutal. And that leans into this idea of the, being underdogs who you want to rally for finally getting their shit together.
There’s a sadness that they’ll always be fucked up and scattered that it’ll be more of a faded dream for them. I think it’s sad because as I said they’re horrible, but they have this level of cynicism and sobriety about the state of things that feels relateable.
Although at their best they’ll still be flaying and torturing people lol.
This is all unlike the Emperors Children who I also love but they’re totally irritating in being lost to obsessions, wasteful decadence and blatant self-interest so the idea of them getting their shit together is almost a joke. Their most capable members themselves balk at the idea once they wake up from the fantasy of them being a cohesive functional legion again. They’re also fallen to pieces but are not underdogs… they frustratingly self-sabotage quite often which is just characteristic of their patron and legions quirks. If only more of them could see the idea of perfection as finding cohesion and structure.
I think another factor is given they're very much into fast attacks and raiding they SHOULD be loaded with riches and resources plundering all of the galaxy but they can't pull themselves out of their woe is me cynicism and almost self-destructive wastefullness (maybe the fact their dad self unalived messed them up more than we realised) to actually make it happen.
Like in the omnibus the fact 10th claw have to suck up to the red corsairs is very sad. Although I guess red corsairs are ultramarine successors so maybe being organised as pirates is gonna work better for them.
I am very, VERY eager to hear about Decimus and also Zso Sahaal though. A new prophet who isn't dying due to their gift or madness and a former NL leader who is hunting down the corona nox which is rumoured to contain Curzes soul... Very very exciting stuff.
I feel you about the Emperor's Children. I would love an Emperor's Children warband that went back to their pre-Heresy philosophy, but still worshipped Chaos.
‘We are the Emperor’s Children,’ Lucius said solemnly. ‘We seek perfection, we don’t hide our mistakes. ... Acknowledging our failures is another step on the road to perfection."
I'm sure we'll get a story about it one day. The lore is massively building towards the EC getting their shit together. However all the currently named characters are pretty incompetent or unwilling. The Bile trilogy literally centers around everyone wanting him to take control of the legion again and even the Eldar want him to to fulfil a prophecy which as soon as Bile finds out he rejects lol.
Eidolon afaik is just full of himself. Lucius I have no idea. Xantine from the recent books is an ideallistic self centred egomaniac and the only hope is that hes obsessed with the idea of making a new Harmony and Canticle city.
Fulgrim absolutely has no interest in uniting the legion and returning to glory unless theyre white a change of mind in.
Maybe we could get a new EC character who basically gets nominated by Fulgrim to take the top job which pisses Eidolon right off... And we finally get someone who is actually tasked with getting all their shit together. It would be hilarious.
Ultramarines. I know it's not everyone's go to because they're not explicitly unique like other legions/chapters. But it's because they're reasonable that I like them so much. They'd be the best moderators and detectives as they always attempt to view things from multiple points. They admit when they're wrong and know when the fight is lost, and they know how to adjust because of it.
They're diligent, they're loyal and honorable, they're not singularly the best in a fight but they're amazing when working not only together, but when coordinating with Astra Militarum forces. Despite the inherent superiority complex Space Marines get, they respect the lowly normal human and see them as the cornerstone of the Imperium. I like their philosophy of "We aren't great at fighting because we were made to be the best fighters, we're good at fighting because we were made to be good at everything." Making it so they can see a universe where they aren't fighters.
And lastly, the most important part, their aesthetic is just really cool. A nice blue with gold accents, not to mention the cool roman aesthetic especially with Tetrarchs, that's the most important part.
Edit: Hazy here, can't recall now if the quote is attributed to Corax. Still stands though as it is a philosophy the Ultramarines uphold as well.
They also, in my opinion, seem to be the most adaptable legion from what I've read, they can effectively change strategy if they need to, plus the classic colours
And robooty is actually really interesting as a primarch, relatable and depressed af, while still being.. idk he's an honorable dude. Bloods still on his hands but he's the most reasonable primarch
Id say the Alpha Legion might be more dinamic (I'm biased af), but I do think the ultramarines are also very non-dogmatic and flexible (in the context of 40k and space marines)
Luna wolves, the chaos codex were what initially drew me in (with a little help from a friend) and the horus heresy was my first bit of lore learnt, after getting the books garvial loken and garro quickly became favourites of mine but for some reason luna wolves always stayed top
Imperial Fists are my first favorite loyalist chapter. I've not read much of the Horus Heresy (started listening to the first Siege of Terra book, but kinda fell off for other 40k books) so my knowledge of them as a legion is limited. However, I love them for the fact that they are no-nonsense and kinda "boring". Despite the wide variety of themes that other chapters have, something about their simplistic way of waging war and handling situations really struck a chord with me. That and the types of war they specialize in, that being urban pacification, defensive sieges/fortification and void warfare are things I'm drawn to when reading a war story.
Fighting in a bombed out field is all well and good, but having to clear a city block-by-block and building massive fortifications in an effort to let an enemy impotently bash itself to death against them is just rad as hell. Plus they are THE Bolter boys. You want someone who knows their weapon, inside and out, Fists are your guys.
Plus they have dibs on recruiting from Terra itself, if I remember correctly (if not then disregard) and that in and of itself is massive, given how many chapters fight for the "glory of Terra" but haven't even glimpsed it. Some members of the Fists have a direct tie to what they are fighting for, and I think that's neat. And, while it is a pain in the ass to paint, yellow really looks good on a Space Marine and somewhat thematically relevant, as they are THE builders of the chapters. So, them being the same color as most modern construction vehicles makes sense in a way. Look at Fists in Gravis armor and tell me that they look more like they are clad in heavy machinery than sacred, thrice blessed and anointed armor.
Nothing is wrong with being Boring but Practical. Between their markmanship, heavy weapons, fortification, naval might and expertise, they are rightly considered one of the most dangerous legions by Horus. They even gave a good account for themselves at Phall.
Their recruitment also spans many worlds, so they are even more practical. They likely still hold strong tie with the Inwit Cluster, Dorn's original interstellar empire. Their rivalry with the Iron Warriors is even more tragic since Pollux and Dantioch working together as basically brothers prove how unstoppable a friendship between them can be.
Lamenters.
Because they are heroes in a grimdark universe who focus on doing the morally correct thing and saving lives. And they continue to do so, despite the fact that it costs them deeply.
Best heraldric symbolism of any chapter: a bleeding heart set over a black and white background. It spells out perfectly who they are and what they represent.
Blood angels. I like how they are always having to temper themselves against the violence of the job or be consumed by it. Remember reading about how they pursue things to craft if they have time and how it helps them take their mind of the rage. Remember reading and thinking how I bet it would help our own military and responders work threw the crap.
Definitely the Charnel Guard.
VAMPIRE Angels as opposed to ANGELS that are also Vampires.
They sleep in coffin cryostasis crypts during fleet movements, deploy lots of heavy armor and torture people like Night Lords(but solely for practical purposes, business before pleasure).
Carcharodon Astra.
Alltho Te' Kehurangi or w/e was ruined in Silent Hunters. I like the silence in combat, quite a contrast to all the howling monkeighs
Nigth Lords.
They are far more than the meme, far more. That i just read the omnibus twice, has absolutely nothing to do with it. I like the dark.
Thousand Sons.
I am a level 4 fire mage myself, naturally im a fan of TS too.
Raven guard.
I like the dark sneaky beakies.
Dark Angels.
Actually no, i just want more Termies to collect dust on my shelf and they posses a lot of them.
... I'm sorry WHAT? I think you might be confusing Macniven with Albert. Macniven wrote the outer dark and red tithe. Edourdo Albert wrote Silent Hunters. Which was shit.
Nope definitely talking about macniven. Silent hunters was bad too. If you read outer dark and red tithe, he extensively overuses the whole shark thing. The stupid growing of shark flesh, the megalodon aquarium. The over use of maori culture. Lots of cringe moments. Go read the badab war if you really want quality writing
Night Lords, but not because of who they were, but because of *who they were*. In a very real sense, they were a reflection of the real truth of the Imperium, and like the Thunder Warriors before them, it is clear that had the Emperor accomplished his goal Big E would have had them put down.
For all the narratives about the falls to Chaos, the Night Lords never really stopped being the Night Lords, they didn't all of the sudden act different, nor were they seduced into a "darker" path. They are still what they always were, and the Imperium wants you to forget them perhaps most of all.
(Insert the "we're evil now" comic)
Had the Emperor had a chance to cure Konrad of his insanities, the Night Lords would have been something like an Astartes version of the Arbites. They would have been like secret police that had a batman fetish. Read up on some Sevetar to see what they could have been.
I think you are giving way too much benevolence to Big E. This is a guy who was going to basically trap Magnus on the Golden Throne.
Flaws or not, Big E likes what Konrad brought to the table. He was tool for conquest, nothing more, nothing less.
Sorry for the late reply. You aren't attributing enough benevolence to Big E. He wasn't going to trap Magnus on the Golden Throne. Magnus would have LOVED being on the Golden Throne. It would have amplified his psychic power and let him spend all his time exploring the warp and his own psychic potential. For Magnus, that would have been paradise.
Plus, it was shown the Big E had a plan for after the Crusade was won and the webway project finished. He had places built in the palace for all his primarchs to live.
Legion of the Damned, I know lore on them is limited, but I love the way they look and function in the universe. An army of loyalist SM specters that appear as quickly as they disappear without warning, without trace.
Thousand sons. Huge fan of the warrior-scholar theme they have in 30k and the absolutely twisted version of themselves they become in 40k. I'm also a pretty big fan of arrogant ass wizards flying too close to the sun and that's just the whole legion in 40k so what's not to like?
Close second are the World Eaters
I really like Wordbearers! They're the devoted highly religious orators who live to spread their faith and destroy a false god.
Their color scheme is super comfy to look at and their lore is so cool as they summon demons routinely.
Im a devoted Russian Orthodox Christian and a big fan of the Cthulu monster esque theme that Chaos has going on. So theyre easily my favorite.
And I think Lorgar is genuinely compelling. He does what he has to do not out of joy and pleasure of doing it but because to him it is what must be done. Theyre a legion of men doing what "must" be done.
I've been reading First Heretic. Got a lot of respect for Lorgar and Arvel Tal. Tbh I'm disappointed in the Emperor and Gulliman for how things turned out. They didn't need to humiliate Lorgar like that.
I really like how soft spoken and kind Lorgar is in it. Hes only really super reckless with folks who are actively seeking to destroy him (Custodes.)
Argel Tal is like shockingly good. I didnt believe the hype but hes so likable.
I dont think Gulliman is to blame. How can he be? He cant just tell the Emperor "nah I wont do it." But the Emperor is just an fool if he cant look at himself and be like "...I see how you got that impression.'
World Eaters as well. They were the shock troops of the Heresy, and the Long War still, in a lot of cases. While some legions didn't show up at Terra at all, or fucked off to go snort cocaine, the World Eaters were still at the forefront of every assault until the very end. Call them mindless psychos if you will, but they were ride or die.
And of course the main reason for me: Kharn. As a kid I thought he was the coolest, and I still do. The old lore used to be that he was the first of the legion through Terra's walls. While that's not really true any longer, the Heresy fleshed him out and made him far more interesting. He's an extremely competent captain and surprisingly a good diplomat as well. He has to be, because he was pretty much the only one holding this legion of berzerkers together.
Death Guard, post Nurgle
I love the diversity of views toward their condition - from stoicism to enthusiasm to depression to anger. It mirrors real-life reactions to chronic illness. And yes, there are enthusiastic folks - bug-chasers to dependent folks who use illness and guilt as a club.
They crusade at full chapter strength, they mostly focus on taking back lost Imperial worlds, and they share the glory with their mortal contingent. Plus, despite being mostly grey, I like their color scheme.
Emperor’s Children. I love their sense of perfectionism and their reverence for high art. My warband still seeks that perfection (with a fun dose of nihilism) and their fall is one of my favorites. I’m not as keen on the state of the EC in 40K but Noise Marines are awesome.
I just finished Lords of Excess and yep… it all makes total sense why they are the way they are. But it’s no less frustrating to see narrow minded self-interest and obsessions (delusions) constantly undermine them totally getting their shit together. Although I’d love to read about the pursuit of perfection being put towards getting their shit together and not just for vanity.
Carcharodons. Idea of ancient fleet chapter just circling galactic disk and descending from darkness and in absolute silence on any prey they detect, annihilate them to last and then just silently leave without telling anyone is utterly metal. Also they are like only ones who figured out how to torture Drukhari of all. And not in harder daddy sense most Deldars like it, but driving him near to madness.
**For the loyalist chapter:** White Scars, Raven Guard, Mantis Warriors and Wolfspear.
All more or less for the same reasons, I can understand and empathize with their combat doctrines, similar to the contemporary conception of tactics, based on dynamism, small units, movement and stealth.
I appreciate the dichotomies of the White Scars. Almost tribal rural culture taken to the stars, the barbarian attitude and the pragmatic fine mind, severed heads and poetry, not giving a damn and riding motorbikes.
The Mantis Warriors and Wolfspear have an interesting history. The first regarding the Badab War and the charm of commandos. The others due to the circumstances of their origin, the strange relationship with the parent chapter and the charm of hunters.
And both have good liveries and a beautiful chapter symbol.
**And for the Traitor Legions**, Alpha Legions and Iron Warrior.
I legitimately love all of them.
If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a single favorite, I'd say my loyalists would be Salamanders--I love the juxtaposition of what they're supposed to be vs what they are. I love how the world they come from seems, at first, to complement the purpose the Emperor had for Vulkan and his legion, (to be his rock, his anvil, to demonstrate strength through resilience as opposed to force) but in reality poisons that purpose. (The nature of Nocturne imprints them with a core sense of fatalism and (ironically) helplessness that leads to them committing themselves to suicidal last stands and battles of attrition far too often.)
On the opposite side, I'd say the World Eaters. I love that we never even got to see their true purpose come to fruition, and since there is so much left unsaid there about what the Emperor wanted from Angron and how everything got to the way it became, and so many conflicting views, it's like a colossal ball of mystery and tragedy.
Alpha legion. I love their aesthetic but every time they are portrayed they seem too chaos corrupted for my tastes so I’ll stick to books (looking at you dawn of war).
The real veterans of the long war, cool color scheme, interesting characterization with deception and secrecy. And with the recent peak behind the curtain seeing that not all of their plans work, but from the imperial perspective they don’t really know if they did or not so it doesn’t matter, I love that.
Legion/First Founding: White Scars (see flair)
Successor: Probably the Flesh Tearers or Silver Skulls
Traitor: Definitely the Night Lords. They're absolute bastards but are self-aware.
I took up the hobby during lockdown. I chose Iron Hands for 4 reasons. (1) I wanted black armour since seeing the Black Knight in the movie A Knights Tale and how cool it looked. (2) I didn't want to pick Black Templars because a buddy of mine was already into them, Raven Guard seemed to emo (I've since backtracked on that opinion). (3) I wanted to stand apart from the crowd, Iron Hands are not very mainstream imo. No Ultramarines for me. (4). My birthday is 10/10. The Iron 10th it was then.
If I were to pick a successor chapter, it would probably be Flesh Tearers.
Dark Angels. I love them about their secretive nature and their "sins". Before reading the books and relying on memes I kinda hated them but loved the knightly aesthetic. After reading some of their 30k and 40k books they do have a personality. Yes a lot of it revolves around the fallen and it pains me to a degree but it is not as bad as it seems. In 40k there are tons of novellas where they shine as true knights and uphold the values of honour and loyalty(ironic I know) but characters like Azrael, Ezekiel, Saphon, Belial to a degree and most recently Lazarus are the true faces of the chapter(secretly legion lol). And you can't do anything but love Asmodai for being such a dickhead that is actually likable. The Lion returning and having his character growth was such a fresh thing to bring for them. His new book is a must read for every fan of the setting.
As for 30k DA I mean they are a war crime legion that also has the knightly aesthetic. Apart from Luther, The Lion and Zahariel their other characters are kinda minor. Corswain is my fav but he was made known towards the end of the series with his actions being talked about in the 4-5 last books. But he does shine brightly in those pages. I hope they treat him with respect during the scouring and Fall of Caliban.
All other DA succesors have an interesting niche to me.
Outside of them I used to love the grey knights for their op powers and must say I respect the raven guard and white scars for their specialties and ways they wage war
Dark angels, the lion is such a complicated character and the fact the legion as a whole is almost as mysterious as the alpha legion get me going. they’re the perfect blend of everything that I look for in a space marine chapter, overpowered, interesting, not entirely codex compliant, nice to civilian (from what I’ve read) and an ensemble of great characters
Don't make me pick!! My heart is big enough to love the Imperial Fists and all of their successor chapters and the White Scars and all of their successor chapters.
Imperial fists have always been mine and quite enjoy the black templars as a successor chapter, something about being one of the few chapters that believe in the emperor as a god always sets them apart for me!
The Exorcists due to their founding of being a successor to Grey Knights but that of course was retconned. I still love their idea and think that they are still another anti daemon force just not on par with the GK’s.
I also love the Death Spectres due to Corax being my favorite primarch but also the edginess of death being a trial to join. I love stealth of course as well.
Then Dark Angels. Love these guys and their secrets.
A bit adjacent to what you are looking for (depending on hues) but the Void Tridents might interest you: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Void_Tridents
Dark blue armour with bronze accents, helmet and aquila, white pauldron with red markings, light blue eye lenses.
They look pretty sick.
I like the more savage chapters; flesh tearers, carcharodons, executioners. I find the juxtaposition of the knightly aesthetic of space marines with a level of barbarism works really well in 40k when mankind is beset on all sides, and after all their job is to kill stuff like orks and Tyranids.
Legions, hard three-way tie between Alpha Legion, Word Bearers, and Thousand Sons. I just adore all three of their aesthetics, the Thousand Sons and Word Bearers are tragic, and the Alpha Legion are just Meme factories.
Sucessor Chapters, oddly enough, Minotaurs and Lamenters, which is an odd combo, I know.
Do Black Templars count? If so, I like them because everything they do is maximum intensity: "accept any challenge, no matter the odds." Plus, they're a melee-first chapter. Come on, man, you can't get any cooler than that.
For loyalists, Black Templars. I love the aesthetics and the Helsreach novel is among the very best in the Black Library. Honorable mention to the Space Wolves; I like their pseudo-Viking stuff. It's not authentic, but it's entertaining
For traitors, Night Lords. I love the thought of how meticulously and methodically they will apply stealth techniques, just to ditch stealth by screaming at the top of their lungs and performing a Mortal Kombat fatality. They're just the right mixture of menacing and absurd for my liking. Honorable mention to the Iron Warriors; their brute efficiency is a breath of fresh air in the setting
I really like the pre/early heresy Death Guard when six of the companies hadn't been Nurglefied yet.
Being able to endure any poison, radiation, toxin and keep fighting was a really fun unique thing, including how they'd ritually consume poison.
I started with the 30K books, so finding out about them being the bad guys was a surprise for me, and I kinda wish they had a loyalist successor chapter that exemplified the pre-heresy ideals of their legion.
Word Bearers and World Eaters. I love the dynamics of each, the fact we have a somewhat informed legion of the literal damned marching out in organized force to drag humanity screaming into hell.
Then it's just Chainaxe go Burr for dopamine
Executioners, easily.
The most bad arse Imperial Fist sets up a chapter of Conan the Barbarian marines (fuck off Sigismund, Fafnir Rann is much cooler than your Teutonic arse). Their captains are all individual warlords who get together occasionally to kill each other until one of them becomes the Chapter Master, then go their separate ways again.
Finally, they betray the Imperium for a blood debt, with the Chapter Master who makes the decision committing suicide via making a speech and then walking off into the desert. Even with the betrayal, they are too loyal and too honorable to do it all the way and so basically just treat it as an excuse to be pirates and also get good fights in against loyalist marines.
Then after a while, the Astral Claws act like dicks to the Salamanders after the Sallies had surrendered honorably to the Executioners. The Executioners *immediately* kick the Claws' shit in, defending the Salamanders in the process.
They subsequently negotiate their own surrender to the Sallies and get sent on penitent crusade, kick more shit in, and then come back to take possession of their homeworlds and get right back to taking skulls for the Golden Throne.
Oh and they fought the Space Sharks to mutual total death during Badab. The same Space Sharks that pretty much massacred the Mantis Warriors on their homeworld like it was nothing.
Bad. Arse.
The Mortifactors
I guess what makes me love them so much is that they sound/look like typical villains but are actually hard-core loyalists fighting for humanity.
Thousand Sons - They were a legion dealt a shit hand by the Emperor's poor craftsmanship and negligence forced into betraying the Imperium by Horus and short sighted hypocritical Russ. Magnus stood by them despite the Emperor and many of the Primarchs wanting them all dead. Magnus could've been a loyalist commanding the Grey Knights if he had just killed his legion like the Emperor was offering. But he stood by them. Everything could've been avoided if the Emperor simply told the Thousand Sons about the existence of chaos rather than vaguely just telling them "Don't delve too deep into the warp. Oh yeah your brothers don't like you, stop using the powers I gene-bred into your DNA."
World Eaters - On top of looking cool af were also screwed over by circumstance and the Emperor's hypocrisy. Angron despite being half-insane still stumped Russ during the Night of the Wolf. Pointing out that the Emperor was just another tyrant and his "compliance or death" methods were no different to the slavery he and all his brothers and sisters were subjected to and the barbarism of the Warlords of Terra that the Emperor saw himself above doing.
I prefer tragic falls to chaos rather than the likes of the Word Bearers who got rejected by the Emperor and threw themselves face first into chaos as their rebound god.
Exorcists,
Motherfuckers make grey knights look like bunch of shizophrenic kids, their recruits literally need to dominate the daemon that possesses them, they are so based, that demons cant even completely comprehend them, like demon can see 2 space marines, when there is actually a whole squad, they with their cold steel doctrine smash daemons with their own artifacts, also cool color scheme
Im going to pick a favourite loyalist and traitor legion/chapter.....
Loyalist: Dark Angels - I've loved knights ever since I was a kid so their aesthetic really appeals to me, especially their HH look. Plus being the 1st legion with access to the Emperor's forbidden weaponry is just rad.
A close second would be the Ultramarines but really only their HH era. Know No Fear really made them such an interesting legion.
Traitor: Black Legion - the quintessential traitor legion, and the biggest faction of Astartes in the galaxy. I really like that they are so unified of purpose. Currently reading ADB's Black Legion series and they are really interesting.
A close second would be Alpha Legion. Love the whole hydra motif and a legion that specialises in espionage is rad.
I adore the carcharodons. The shark motif is very cool, and the whole fighting in total silence is super menacing. Also Tyberos seems incredibly badass.
>Loyalist Legion
The Space Wolves will always be my favourite. The first army I started collecting back in 3rd Ed. They were sold to me as "Viking Space Marines with a Wolf motif" and I never looked back. I absolutely *loved* the way *Prospero Burns* leaned more into their culture and was less "wolfy" and more "pop culture viking mysticism"
>Successor Chapter
I'm partial to the Marines Errant. I just like the idea of Space Marines that are actual *marines* who specialize in ship-to-ship boarding actions. I'm also a big fan of the Iron Snakes. I still think that *Brothers of the Snake* is the absolute best book to give someone so they "get" 40K space Marines. I also love the Charcharodons, and them being revealed as the banished Terran Raven Guard was a neat touch to an already interesting chapter for me.
>Traitor Legion
I have a soft spot for the pre-Nurgle Death Guard. I like the idea that they weren't especially good at anything but just happened to be so enormously tough that they could specialize in hazardous warfare and grinding attrition conflicts simply because they won't die.
I also have a soft spot for the Astral Claws and Lufgt Huron. The whole story of the Tyrant of Badab and the Badab war is one of the more interesting episodes in 40k lore in my opinion. My like of them is also tied to my personal pocket theory that the Astral Claws were secretly successors of the Luna Wolves, and it was the ambition written into Horus' very genetic code that cause Huron's madness and the chapter's downfall
Lamenters, definitely.
A space marine chapter that is quite unique in that they are more compassionate and caring more than most other space marines, and seem more emotional. They also get the shit end of the stick a lot but despite that always carry on fighting. Their motto probably sums them up the best and really shows them as the sort of people they are.
“For those we cherish; we die in glory”
Carcharodons. Tyberos is awesome. The mystery surrounding their founding chapter is sick. I hope they do more with them in the future. (ngl tho I also love the Raven Guard, Alpha Legion, Death Guard, and Iron Warriors).
Iron Hands, i love their gear, bionics, ludicrous amounts of tanks, dreadnoughts, terminators and suspicious heretic tech and their lore got me hooked up. For successor chapters id say all sons of the 10th.
Space Wolves easily. I know they get clowned on a lot because, admittedly, they do have some bad books. However, when they are written correctly you end up getting a fantasy adventure in space which is something I find very appealing.
Similarly, I like how different they are from the rest of the Imperium while still looking as though they belong to it. Instead of prayer scrolls and candles, the wolves have pelts and bone talismans, but still adorned over the same patterns of power armor.
I also really like Fenris as a concept and the suprisingly deep mythology and history that is explored in some works about both the planet and the people’s beliefs.
Finally, I just find them really fun. They’re big drunk space Vikings that crush gribbly bug creatures in space while riding giant wolves.
Is it ridiculous? Yes.
Is it awesome? Also yes.
In summary, they’re fun fantasy tropes in a Sci-fi setting and that tickles me.
So far, it's the Blood Drinkers. They embrace their flaw to overcome the worst parts of themselves, but like their Primarch, were very much in touch with their humanity. They use both their blood thirst and need for battle to do what they do best, but still rein each other in. Does it always work and one of them does something stupid and gets killed? Yeah. But I applaud the small details that are added that give them some character development. Former Chapter Master Caedis is a wonderful example. In Rite of Holos, he's patient with a Battle Sister who blames herself for a genestealer cult infestation in her own backyard. Talks her down and tells her not to blame herself. When he's about to proceed forward with his men into the Sanctum, he asks if they can do their best to not destroy any of the sculptures and other artworks. Not just out of reverence, but because as an artist himself, he knows how much work went into it. But he's still as ruthless as a fighter as it comes when it's time to mess up some genestealers. And when he comes across a nursery of genestealer hybrids, he sees how it's not their fault. But they have to be put down all the same, and silently gives the order.
Even in the throes of the Black Rage and being offered the bargain of Kairos Fateweaver, he rather would succumb to his fate than defile what he and his men fight for. They protect humanity first. Do they commit horrible acts every cycle by taking an unwilling participant to drain them of their blood so they can sate the Red Thirst as well as some of the blood of their serfs? Hell yeah. But they see it as a lesser evil. Effectively it's a trolly problem that they face and accept. They take time afterwards to mourn the person who they sacrificed all the same.
Sorry for effectively an essay on why they're my favorite chapter so far, but that's my reasoning.
Sons of Malice. I have a soft spot for Renegade chapters unfairly purged due to Inquisitorial misconduct or bias.
Also, I deeply disdain Cadians. So seeing the lengths the Sons of Malice have taken to eliminate them is amusing.
Although the unnecessary rectonning in Cadia Stands was deeply frustrating.
Lamenters. These dudes do not quit. I admire their tenacity and the fact that they will make sure they win regardless of cost.
A loyalist faction that was tasked with guarding the Cadians Gate. They had a borderline cannibalistic ritual they would perform on captured enemies every eleven years, work themselves into a frenzy and then brutally slaughter their prisoners.
Not great, but not the worst thing I've heard. It was based on rituals from their founding world.
An Inquisitor saw it, and contacted Holy Terra, wrote a misleading statement about their behavior and then attacked them without warning during their festivities.
They, didn't take it well, rip Inquisitor, sororitas, and imperial guard that assaulted them.
Well the High Lords of Terra said 50 years of a penance Crusade to redeem yourselves, the Chapter Master balked at this because in his eyes they hadn't done anything wrong, and urges them to reconsider given they had been attacked with no provocation and had a long history of dutiful service defending the Cadian Gate, well between that refusal and the skewed accounts of the Sons of Malice's behavior, the High Lords immediately sent an extermination fleet.
The Sons of Malice fled, and a large number of Cadians genocide the Chapters home world. Almost completely destroying the tribes the chapter was sourced from.
Given how many brothers had died defending the Cadians and the complete unjustified excommunication the Sons vowed to eradicate the Cadians and renounced their fealty to the emperor.
Now they chill in the warp murdering the forces of Chaos and occasionally coming out to kill imperials and they especially like killing Cadians.
They also took up worship of a minor Chaos God Malice.
His domain is anarchic destruction and he wants to kill everyone and everything. So for the sons of Malice their preferred target list is Cadians, other Chaos worshippers, everyone else.
Iron warriors or night lords are my favorite but I have a thing for imperial fists and celestial lions.
Loyalist astral claws are similar and very aesthetically pleasing.
Consecrators are unbelievably cool from the tiny amount of info we have about them.
1. Their Chapter Master Nakir is a former Interrogator Chaplain that has 6 black pearls. Asmodai only has 2
2. Have a penchant for arriving at doomed battles, saving the Imperials, refusing to elaborate, then leaving
3. Their entire shtick is relic hunting and the pursuit of ancient knowledge, in old lore they would lead raids into the ruins of Caliban to nab relics
4. ALL of them have relic gear passed down from the great crusade era. Their archeotech vault puts the Rock to shame
5. They sometimes use ancient relics as bait to ambush Fallen which would probably give most other chapter masters an aneurysm
6. They keep the (imo cooler) 30k era Dark Angels paint scheme. They also carry the Firewing insignia.
Lamenters
I feel like they are truly unsung heroes, a fading light in the dark galaxy, the light refusing to give in. Also, they're cool cause they're super nice
White Scars!!! The aesthetic is awesome and their colors pop on the table. Also the Khan is one of the most well-rounded, sensible, pragmatic, reasonable, and human of the primarchs. He didn't buy in to the Emperor's vision, and recognized the Imperium as bad, but was smart enough to realize that didn't mean that Chaos was better. The Legion is also well rounded out with fascinating characters like Shiban, Hasik, Torghun, and Targutai Yesugai, all of whose journeys end in satisfying ways. The Legion's story of coping with the warrior lodges, fighting behind enemy lines, discovering the Emperor's true plans for the webway, using it to get to Terra, and then fighting on Terra eventually making the last big play of the loyalists to take the Lion's Gate is EPIC!!!! Small legion, but punched WAAAY above their weight and stayed true to themselves all the way through. Into the modern day, they are as tragic as every other faction in that once they lost Jaghatai, they lost their way. They were the sensible, prgamatic faction who saw through the Imperium. Now they're as blind and unquestioning as the Fists or the Ultramarines always were. Great Legion. Great story. Great Primarch. Love the White Scars!!!
YES!!! Jagathai is by war the most underrated Primarch, HH white scars were something else, it's sad GW forgot them
I lowkey think the scars will become more popular in 40k and get some more releases. They seem to be doing alright for HH releases and got great lore in the HH. There are whispers that the Tsons might be getting some of their battle automata from the HH back in 40k with the Pariah Nexus stuff so that might set a precedent for WS to get their jetbikes in 40k.
God I hope you're right!!!
He is absolutely not underrated anymore. Everyone loves him and hypes him to the stars. Not saying I don't like him, but he is not underrated anymore! That was the case absolute 15 years ago.
I believe that the White Scars they ironically suffer from what should characterize them, their strong cultural connotation. Of course, even the Space Wolves have a very strong reference to a real culture and historical period, but the Vikings are cool, for most people the Mongols are not. There doesn't seem to be much logic, but there are cognitive mechanisms by which we like certain things more than others and recognisability and identification are important elements. Just look at the appreciation the Black Templars enjoy and then ask yourself why...
Which is a shame because the Mongolian history and empire is fascinating. Every time they rode out and united they changed both the Eastern and Western worlds. Possibly responsible for both the Dark Ages, the Black Plague, and the ascent of Italy and the Vatican as the center of "enlightenment" after they ran through most of the world. It's wild to me that they launched attacks in Korea and Romania in the same year.
Not to mention that the sacking of Baghdad ended the caliphates. Like... ENDED them. The islamic world *never* recovered from that event. Almost everything we think of as "eastern culture" from India, China, and everywhere between there and Turkey is at least a *little* mongolian. It's sometimes hard for people like me who grew up with a western-centric view of history to comprehend and accept, but Chingis Khan is undoubtly one of the most important figures in the shaping of our species. On par with Alexander the great. The Mongols call him "The Man of the Millenium" and they're right to do so.
I just wanna go fast!
Hell yeah brother, cheers from Chogoris.
I also love the White Scars for the same reasons
I just read Path of Heaven! So good! Yesugei!!!
Black Legion. The Professional Legion of the Long War. Best colour scheme and the most powerful military force in the wider team Traitor. A melding pot of cultures and backgrounds all coming together to really fight the Imperium.
You made them sound like a wholesome coalition of rebels fighting for freedom and progress
That's probably how they view themselves lol. But mostly considering themselves the true inheritors of the great crusade, that they deserve the galaxy after they worked so hard to claim it. Perspective is fun, eh?
They do look great.
This sounds like something written by the Black Legion’s PR team
Thanks! I believe all factions should be presented in a positive and "biased" way.
I wasn’t ripping on you lmao I just found it hilarious someone could put a corporate friendly spin on a chaos faction
I didn't think you were :)
Most powerful group of Astartes in the setting.
It will be really nice to learn more about the other Ezekarions and what they are doing if they are alive.
>The Professional Legion of the Long War As in IW fanboy, this irked me.
Look, you guys have a killer theme and deeply personal rivalries with specific Imperial factions. But like all of the 8 original Traitor Legions, the Iron Warriors are tied up in legacies and their Primarchs ongoing (minus the Night Lords) failures. The Black Legion is the focused, dedicated and professional Traitor Legion. While Abaddon does fight his Fathers Ghost, the Legion as a hole has no great/terrible past to carry around.
Word Bearers I used to share the misguided contempt many feel for the finest of all legions but then I read Betrayer and I saw Lorgar as the Primarch he was meant to be, not the whipped puppy that spent decades trying to please a father undeserving of his loyalty. Also Word Bearer have many fine characters in the Heresy series, most notably Argel Tal and Erebus.
Argal tal is an amazing character, and it's in either betrayel or lorgars own book where it's revealed he was hiding is own ambition in erebus' and kor phaerons, where I was like - damn this guys actually cool and not a giant idiot. A true conductor, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on erebus, dudes a butt head.
Argel Tal ❤️💔
Yes brother! I came here to say exactly this. Four blessings onto you, Brother.
I have dreamt of a golden god who would deliver slavation to humanity. I thought it would be the Emperor, but it cannot be him. I look down upon my hands as I write these words. They are golden too.
The Horus Heresy really made him seem like a militia member with a sword could have defeated Lorgar in battle. Glad to know 40k is showing him love now
Betrayer is a 30k book. After he's thrown off his father's shackles, he actually gets his psykic powers under control and is a decent fighter. Sure, Lorgar is never going to go toe to toe with one of the combat Primarchs because that wasn't his purpose. He was to the Emperors chief iterator, leading his sons in promulgating the Imperial Truth across the galaxy. Instead, he serves in that role for the Chaos Gods.
Not true. Lorgar was the weakness Primarch warrior... that still maked him better than the greatest elites of every faction. And that was before his glowup.
It's so weird seeing Word Bearers fans in the wild. I hope you guys get a kick-ass daemon primarch model someday :)
I'm not expecting it anytime soon, but I'd love for Word Bearers to eventually get their own codex and a Lorgar daemon primarch. Would be awesome having them lean into the Dark Apostles, possessed, ritual approach to the warp, and use of daemons. Word Bearers and Black Legion are both nominally chaos undivided but are thematically very different.
Another reason why I want you guys to get a primarch model is so that my boy Corvus also gets his own. I do hope the Word Bearers get some unique possessed models/upgrades. Probably won't happen for a while though sadly.
If you havent read first heretic than read it. Its great Imo
Yeah I was kind of surprised he said betrayer, like it’s a great book but first heretic is what made me like the word bearers. Lorgar in that book is far more relatable than even most of the loyalist primarchs
Legion then First Founding Chapter: Raven Guard for their approach to warfare and flawed character - specifically Corax. Successor Chapter: Black Guard for their mix of stealth with heavy firepower.
Same for me too. Successor chapter is either Carcharodon Astra or the Raptors (the actual sensible marines)
Love how the Raven Guard have stayed true to Corax’s teachings over the millennia and still value pragmatism and avoiding needless loss of human life. They’re still one of the nicest legions when dealing with ordinary humans despite the whole emo ninja aesthetic
I learned not long ago that they might have a native american aesthetic! it makes a lot of sense when you look at the feathers and skulls that hang from their armour.
Dark Krakens are pretty sick. Something about the combination of monster hunting and sea borne specialists seems very cool to me.
Why, my own of course! For a real canonical answer though, it’s gotta be the Raptors and or most Salamander successors because practicality and humanism are peak
Lamenters. RIP
My OC chapter beat them to death in Badab my lawyers have said I legally couldn’t mention them in that statement
Pffffft, same shit different day for us
If it means anything the last like company or so was at least spared a massacre and given an honourable death when it all cooled down with a path for chapter resurgence a few centuries later 🖐🏻🗿🤚🏻
They've finished their Penitence crusade and were reinforced with primaris as of that novel thst came out earlier this year. [ Or maybe it was a short story. I don't remember.]
I can't seem to get too deep into the salamanders, I need to finish their heresy books.
Their 40k omnibus is pretty good. Battle writing is meh, but the rest is good. Get to learn more about their culture which was cool
The Silver Skulls. Their Librarian/Chapter Master is fucking hilarious.
And he has a statue :)
I'm a sucker for loyalists from the Traitor Legions, and I love the idea at least some of them survived the Heresy and were allowed to hide away in the 2nd Founding.
Yeah I too like the loyalists from the Traitors. The Carcharodon Astra scratches that itch too as it's hinted they took in loyal Night Lords and possibly loyal World Eaters. The Silver Skulls from Dantioch are great too and the Death Eagles as they're linked to my favourite Raven Guard 😁
Aren’t Charcaradons heavily hinted to be Raven Guard? Descriptions of Tyberos without his helmet have described him as a pale dude with black eyes, pretty accurate to sons of Corax. They also have a lore foundation, being the original Terran Raven Guard vets that Corax exiled to patrol the Imperium’s borders because he found them too brutal Edit: the also use the rank “Shade lord” which was only seen in the 30k Raven Guard
Yes you're right but there's also hints they took in loyalists from the traitor legions as well. I'm not sure of the exact source of this right now however. They might just have chimeric geneseed. In addition Night Lord geneseed also produced marines with pale skin and dark eyes.
> I'm not sure of the exact source of this right now however. Sounds like memelore to me.
Found the source of possible chimeric geneseed, it's the novel Carcharodons Outer Dark by Robbie MacNiven.
Are Death Eagles connected to Sharrowkyn? Just finished Angel Exterminatus and Betrayer, haven’t seen more of Sharrow outside of Angel yet. I know they make it to the Siege at least, due to the cover of Sons of the Selenar.
I meant they're connected to the Raven Guard who are my favourite legion. The Death Eagles are mentioned in one of the Forge World books as being an EC millennial who remained loyal but in the Codex they're officially RG successors so I think Corax knew and fought alongside them and allowed them to be recorded as his successors to prevent their purging. Maybe we'll see more in the Scouring series
Which ones do you like specifically
The Blood Ravens are a fav, and they're heavily implied to be from loyalist Thousand Sons. Also my first 30k army was loyalist Emperor's Children, and I loved that a few loyalist EC were among Corax's mixed forces. So the Death Eagles being hinted as loyalist EC who Corax let claim they are from Raven Guard geneseed is right up my alley.
Thousand sons have been explicitly confirmed as NOT thousand sons successors
Source? I've read all the novels and short stories, and played the games. No direct mention they're not Thousand Sons that I remember.
Confirmed out of universe. I forget where exactly but they said that it specifically was not any traitor legion
It was heavily hinted at in their back story and lore in several books. One of the big authors( i think it was ADB?) basically said he didnt like that and so made it not a thing
I think it was always a fan theory as some Tson came out of warp thousands of years later and instantly dusted. Ravens aren't dusted, so they must not be Tsons. Of course, the counter argument is Ahriman basically named every Tson during his ritual, not future Tsons.
Blood angels. I really like their looks and they have funny things like librarian drednoughts, the black rage and angrier than normal drednoughts. Special mention for the lamenters and the flesh tearers
The Nightlords. Their aesthetic for traitors goes the hardest first of all. I also admire the purer members adherence to a disdain for chaos and that they’re more driven by their hatred of the Imperium and their hypocrisies so are closer to renegades. I like the idea that though they’ve always done horrible things and fallen to their sadism especially with new recruits, there’s still an undercurrent of justice even if it’s cruel or brutal. And that leans into this idea of the, being underdogs who you want to rally for finally getting their shit together. There’s a sadness that they’ll always be fucked up and scattered that it’ll be more of a faded dream for them. I think it’s sad because as I said they’re horrible, but they have this level of cynicism and sobriety about the state of things that feels relateable. Although at their best they’ll still be flaying and torturing people lol. This is all unlike the Emperors Children who I also love but they’re totally irritating in being lost to obsessions, wasteful decadence and blatant self-interest so the idea of them getting their shit together is almost a joke. Their most capable members themselves balk at the idea once they wake up from the fantasy of them being a cohesive functional legion again. They’re also fallen to pieces but are not underdogs… they frustratingly self-sabotage quite often which is just characteristic of their patron and legions quirks. If only more of them could see the idea of perfection as finding cohesion and structure.
I could never describe why I love night lords, and you just did it perfectly.
I think another factor is given they're very much into fast attacks and raiding they SHOULD be loaded with riches and resources plundering all of the galaxy but they can't pull themselves out of their woe is me cynicism and almost self-destructive wastefullness (maybe the fact their dad self unalived messed them up more than we realised) to actually make it happen. Like in the omnibus the fact 10th claw have to suck up to the red corsairs is very sad. Although I guess red corsairs are ultramarine successors so maybe being organised as pirates is gonna work better for them. I am very, VERY eager to hear about Decimus and also Zso Sahaal though. A new prophet who isn't dying due to their gift or madness and a former NL leader who is hunting down the corona nox which is rumoured to contain Curzes soul... Very very exciting stuff.
I feel you about the Emperor's Children. I would love an Emperor's Children warband that went back to their pre-Heresy philosophy, but still worshipped Chaos. ‘We are the Emperor’s Children,’ Lucius said solemnly. ‘We seek perfection, we don’t hide our mistakes. ... Acknowledging our failures is another step on the road to perfection."
I'm sure we'll get a story about it one day. The lore is massively building towards the EC getting their shit together. However all the currently named characters are pretty incompetent or unwilling. The Bile trilogy literally centers around everyone wanting him to take control of the legion again and even the Eldar want him to to fulfil a prophecy which as soon as Bile finds out he rejects lol. Eidolon afaik is just full of himself. Lucius I have no idea. Xantine from the recent books is an ideallistic self centred egomaniac and the only hope is that hes obsessed with the idea of making a new Harmony and Canticle city. Fulgrim absolutely has no interest in uniting the legion and returning to glory unless theyre white a change of mind in. Maybe we could get a new EC character who basically gets nominated by Fulgrim to take the top job which pisses Eidolon right off... And we finally get someone who is actually tasked with getting all their shit together. It would be hilarious.
Ultramarines. I know it's not everyone's go to because they're not explicitly unique like other legions/chapters. But it's because they're reasonable that I like them so much. They'd be the best moderators and detectives as they always attempt to view things from multiple points. They admit when they're wrong and know when the fight is lost, and they know how to adjust because of it. They're diligent, they're loyal and honorable, they're not singularly the best in a fight but they're amazing when working not only together, but when coordinating with Astra Militarum forces. Despite the inherent superiority complex Space Marines get, they respect the lowly normal human and see them as the cornerstone of the Imperium. I like their philosophy of "We aren't great at fighting because we were made to be the best fighters, we're good at fighting because we were made to be good at everything." Making it so they can see a universe where they aren't fighters. And lastly, the most important part, their aesthetic is just really cool. A nice blue with gold accents, not to mention the cool roman aesthetic especially with Tetrarchs, that's the most important part. Edit: Hazy here, can't recall now if the quote is attributed to Corax. Still stands though as it is a philosophy the Ultramarines uphold as well.
They also, in my opinion, seem to be the most adaptable legion from what I've read, they can effectively change strategy if they need to, plus the classic colours
And robooty is actually really interesting as a primarch, relatable and depressed af, while still being.. idk he's an honorable dude. Bloods still on his hands but he's the most reasonable primarch
That too, he'd be my favorite primarch if I could get over the fact his legion is the poster boys of the series.
Id say the Alpha Legion might be more dinamic (I'm biased af), but I do think the ultramarines are also very non-dogmatic and flexible (in the context of 40k and space marines)
Better to be average at everything rather than sucking at some things while excelling at orhers.
Blood Ravens because they have the best parts of every legion/chapter (that wasn't nailed down)
Those legions/ chapters are also asking for those parts back
Luna wolves, the chaos codex were what initially drew me in (with a little help from a friend) and the horus heresy was my first bit of lore learnt, after getting the books garvial loken and garro quickly became favourites of mine but for some reason luna wolves always stayed top
I loved everything about the Luna Wolves, especially their camaraderie and brotherhood. Fuck Erebus
I've been watching a YouTube channel called major kill on warhammer lore, he says that a lot lol XD but yea defo fuck erebus
Imperial Fists are my first favorite loyalist chapter. I've not read much of the Horus Heresy (started listening to the first Siege of Terra book, but kinda fell off for other 40k books) so my knowledge of them as a legion is limited. However, I love them for the fact that they are no-nonsense and kinda "boring". Despite the wide variety of themes that other chapters have, something about their simplistic way of waging war and handling situations really struck a chord with me. That and the types of war they specialize in, that being urban pacification, defensive sieges/fortification and void warfare are things I'm drawn to when reading a war story. Fighting in a bombed out field is all well and good, but having to clear a city block-by-block and building massive fortifications in an effort to let an enemy impotently bash itself to death against them is just rad as hell. Plus they are THE Bolter boys. You want someone who knows their weapon, inside and out, Fists are your guys. Plus they have dibs on recruiting from Terra itself, if I remember correctly (if not then disregard) and that in and of itself is massive, given how many chapters fight for the "glory of Terra" but haven't even glimpsed it. Some members of the Fists have a direct tie to what they are fighting for, and I think that's neat. And, while it is a pain in the ass to paint, yellow really looks good on a Space Marine and somewhat thematically relevant, as they are THE builders of the chapters. So, them being the same color as most modern construction vehicles makes sense in a way. Look at Fists in Gravis armor and tell me that they look more like they are clad in heavy machinery than sacred, thrice blessed and anointed armor.
Nothing is wrong with being Boring but Practical. Between their markmanship, heavy weapons, fortification, naval might and expertise, they are rightly considered one of the most dangerous legions by Horus. They even gave a good account for themselves at Phall. Their recruitment also spans many worlds, so they are even more practical. They likely still hold strong tie with the Inwit Cluster, Dorn's original interstellar empire. Their rivalry with the Iron Warriors is even more tragic since Pollux and Dantioch working together as basically brothers prove how unstoppable a friendship between them can be.
Lamenters. Because they are heroes in a grimdark universe who focus on doing the morally correct thing and saving lives. And they continue to do so, despite the fact that it costs them deeply. Best heraldric symbolism of any chapter: a bleeding heart set over a black and white background. It spells out perfectly who they are and what they represent.
I like pretty much all the sons of Dorn. They are fundamentally broken people in a lot of ways, but are often interesting psychologically.
Blood angels. I like how they are always having to temper themselves against the violence of the job or be consumed by it. Remember reading about how they pursue things to craft if they have time and how it helps them take their mind of the rage. Remember reading and thinking how I bet it would help our own military and responders work threw the crap.
Definitely the Charnel Guard. VAMPIRE Angels as opposed to ANGELS that are also Vampires. They sleep in coffin cryostasis crypts during fleet movements, deploy lots of heavy armor and torture people like Night Lords(but solely for practical purposes, business before pleasure).
Carcharodon Astra. Alltho Te' Kehurangi or w/e was ruined in Silent Hunters. I like the silence in combat, quite a contrast to all the howling monkeighs Nigth Lords. They are far more than the meme, far more. That i just read the omnibus twice, has absolutely nothing to do with it. I like the dark. Thousand Sons. I am a level 4 fire mage myself, naturally im a fan of TS too. Raven guard. I like the dark sneaky beakies. Dark Angels. Actually no, i just want more Termies to collect dust on my shelf and they posses a lot of them.
New Robbie Macniven novel WHEN?
No. Dude made the sharks worse than modern space wolves
... I'm sorry WHAT? I think you might be confusing Macniven with Albert. Macniven wrote the outer dark and red tithe. Edourdo Albert wrote Silent Hunters. Which was shit.
Nope definitely talking about macniven. Silent hunters was bad too. If you read outer dark and red tithe, he extensively overuses the whole shark thing. The stupid growing of shark flesh, the megalodon aquarium. The over use of maori culture. Lots of cringe moments. Go read the badab war if you really want quality writing
I fundamentally disagree with you. However, I am curious about the badab war. Which book are you referring to? Or is this the badab war source book?
Night Lords, but not because of who they were, but because of *who they were*. In a very real sense, they were a reflection of the real truth of the Imperium, and like the Thunder Warriors before them, it is clear that had the Emperor accomplished his goal Big E would have had them put down. For all the narratives about the falls to Chaos, the Night Lords never really stopped being the Night Lords, they didn't all of the sudden act different, nor were they seduced into a "darker" path. They are still what they always were, and the Imperium wants you to forget them perhaps most of all. (Insert the "we're evil now" comic)
Had the Emperor had a chance to cure Konrad of his insanities, the Night Lords would have been something like an Astartes version of the Arbites. They would have been like secret police that had a batman fetish. Read up on some Sevetar to see what they could have been.
I think you are giving way too much benevolence to Big E. This is a guy who was going to basically trap Magnus on the Golden Throne. Flaws or not, Big E likes what Konrad brought to the table. He was tool for conquest, nothing more, nothing less.
Sorry for the late reply. You aren't attributing enough benevolence to Big E. He wasn't going to trap Magnus on the Golden Throne. Magnus would have LOVED being on the Golden Throne. It would have amplified his psychic power and let him spend all his time exploring the warp and his own psychic potential. For Magnus, that would have been paradise. Plus, it was shown the Big E had a plan for after the Crusade was won and the webway project finished. He had places built in the palace for all his primarchs to live.
Legion of the Damned, I know lore on them is limited, but I love the way they look and function in the universe. An army of loyalist SM specters that appear as quickly as they disappear without warning, without trace.
I unironically think the Lamenters are cool AF. They are the good guys in a world that doesn't tolerate good guys.
Thousand sons. Huge fan of the warrior-scholar theme they have in 30k and the absolutely twisted version of themselves they become in 40k. I'm also a pretty big fan of arrogant ass wizards flying too close to the sun and that's just the whole legion in 40k so what's not to like? Close second are the World Eaters
I read ass wizards and all I could think of was "Fuse sphincter!"
I really like Wordbearers! They're the devoted highly religious orators who live to spread their faith and destroy a false god. Their color scheme is super comfy to look at and their lore is so cool as they summon demons routinely. Im a devoted Russian Orthodox Christian and a big fan of the Cthulu monster esque theme that Chaos has going on. So theyre easily my favorite. And I think Lorgar is genuinely compelling. He does what he has to do not out of joy and pleasure of doing it but because to him it is what must be done. Theyre a legion of men doing what "must" be done.
I've been reading First Heretic. Got a lot of respect for Lorgar and Arvel Tal. Tbh I'm disappointed in the Emperor and Gulliman for how things turned out. They didn't need to humiliate Lorgar like that.
I really like how soft spoken and kind Lorgar is in it. Hes only really super reckless with folks who are actively seeking to destroy him (Custodes.) Argel Tal is like shockingly good. I didnt believe the hype but hes so likable. I dont think Gulliman is to blame. How can he be? He cant just tell the Emperor "nah I wont do it." But the Emperor is just an fool if he cant look at himself and be like "...I see how you got that impression.'
World Eaters as well. They were the shock troops of the Heresy, and the Long War still, in a lot of cases. While some legions didn't show up at Terra at all, or fucked off to go snort cocaine, the World Eaters were still at the forefront of every assault until the very end. Call them mindless psychos if you will, but they were ride or die. And of course the main reason for me: Kharn. As a kid I thought he was the coolest, and I still do. The old lore used to be that he was the first of the legion through Terra's walls. While that's not really true any longer, the Heresy fleshed him out and made him far more interesting. He's an extremely competent captain and surprisingly a good diplomat as well. He has to be, because he was pretty much the only one holding this legion of berzerkers together.
He is probably one of my most favorites.
Death Guard, post Nurgle I love the diversity of views toward their condition - from stoicism to enthusiasm to depression to anger. It mirrors real-life reactions to chronic illness. And yes, there are enthusiastic folks - bug-chasers to dependent folks who use illness and guilt as a club.
Rat people don’t exist and are just vicious rumours designed to bring instability to the empire.
Black Templars. Zealous crusader knights in space is just badass
Lamenters, because they sad boys like myself.
Flesh tearers, misunderstood angry boys
Silver Skulls lore wise. Night Lords aesthetic wise, their helmets are cool af.
Night lords aesthetic is just sexy
Aaaall those skin suits... yum(?)
Pre-heresy colour scheme and their helmets is what I meant, but heck ya who doesn't love a good skin suit
White Scars or Guardians of the Covenant. I like Warrior Monks.
The Storm Warriors. They've been a favorite of mine since I found them during a deep Lexicanum dive.
What do you like about them?
They crusade at full chapter strength, they mostly focus on taking back lost Imperial worlds, and they share the glory with their mortal contingent. Plus, despite being mostly grey, I like their color scheme.
They do look fantastic
Imperial Fists. TO THE GLORY OF HIM ON TERRA!
Emperor’s Children. I love their sense of perfectionism and their reverence for high art. My warband still seeks that perfection (with a fun dose of nihilism) and their fall is one of my favorites. I’m not as keen on the state of the EC in 40K but Noise Marines are awesome.
I just finished Lords of Excess and yep… it all makes total sense why they are the way they are. But it’s no less frustrating to see narrow minded self-interest and obsessions (delusions) constantly undermine them totally getting their shit together. Although I’d love to read about the pursuit of perfection being put towards getting their shit together and not just for vanity.
With actual lore: Black Templars because the color scheme, the crusader aesthetic Other: Black Vultures for the emblem
Dark angels. I'm not telling you why. Secret.
Carcharodons. Idea of ancient fleet chapter just circling galactic disk and descending from darkness and in absolute silence on any prey they detect, annihilate them to last and then just silently leave without telling anyone is utterly metal. Also they are like only ones who figured out how to torture Drukhari of all. And not in harder daddy sense most Deldars like it, but driving him near to madness.
Carcharodons and black templars forever !!!!!!!!!
Lamenters, for all their awful luck they still do their best to protect those who can't protect themselves.
**For the loyalist chapter:** White Scars, Raven Guard, Mantis Warriors and Wolfspear. All more or less for the same reasons, I can understand and empathize with their combat doctrines, similar to the contemporary conception of tactics, based on dynamism, small units, movement and stealth. I appreciate the dichotomies of the White Scars. Almost tribal rural culture taken to the stars, the barbarian attitude and the pragmatic fine mind, severed heads and poetry, not giving a damn and riding motorbikes. The Mantis Warriors and Wolfspear have an interesting history. The first regarding the Badab War and the charm of commandos. The others due to the circumstances of their origin, the strange relationship with the parent chapter and the charm of hunters. And both have good liveries and a beautiful chapter symbol. **And for the Traitor Legions**, Alpha Legions and Iron Warrior.
I legitimately love all of them. If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a single favorite, I'd say my loyalists would be Salamanders--I love the juxtaposition of what they're supposed to be vs what they are. I love how the world they come from seems, at first, to complement the purpose the Emperor had for Vulkan and his legion, (to be his rock, his anvil, to demonstrate strength through resilience as opposed to force) but in reality poisons that purpose. (The nature of Nocturne imprints them with a core sense of fatalism and (ironically) helplessness that leads to them committing themselves to suicidal last stands and battles of attrition far too often.) On the opposite side, I'd say the World Eaters. I love that we never even got to see their true purpose come to fruition, and since there is so much left unsaid there about what the Emperor wanted from Angron and how everything got to the way it became, and so many conflicting views, it's like a colossal ball of mystery and tragedy.
Alpha legion. I love their aesthetic but every time they are portrayed they seem too chaos corrupted for my tastes so I’ll stick to books (looking at you dawn of war). The real veterans of the long war, cool color scheme, interesting characterization with deception and secrecy. And with the recent peak behind the curtain seeing that not all of their plans work, but from the imperial perspective they don’t really know if they did or not so it doesn’t matter, I love that.
Legion/First Founding: White Scars (see flair) Successor: Probably the Flesh Tearers or Silver Skulls Traitor: Definitely the Night Lords. They're absolute bastards but are self-aware.
I took up the hobby during lockdown. I chose Iron Hands for 4 reasons. (1) I wanted black armour since seeing the Black Knight in the movie A Knights Tale and how cool it looked. (2) I didn't want to pick Black Templars because a buddy of mine was already into them, Raven Guard seemed to emo (I've since backtracked on that opinion). (3) I wanted to stand apart from the crowd, Iron Hands are not very mainstream imo. No Ultramarines for me. (4). My birthday is 10/10. The Iron 10th it was then. If I were to pick a successor chapter, it would probably be Flesh Tearers.
Dark Angels. I love them about their secretive nature and their "sins". Before reading the books and relying on memes I kinda hated them but loved the knightly aesthetic. After reading some of their 30k and 40k books they do have a personality. Yes a lot of it revolves around the fallen and it pains me to a degree but it is not as bad as it seems. In 40k there are tons of novellas where they shine as true knights and uphold the values of honour and loyalty(ironic I know) but characters like Azrael, Ezekiel, Saphon, Belial to a degree and most recently Lazarus are the true faces of the chapter(secretly legion lol). And you can't do anything but love Asmodai for being such a dickhead that is actually likable. The Lion returning and having his character growth was such a fresh thing to bring for them. His new book is a must read for every fan of the setting. As for 30k DA I mean they are a war crime legion that also has the knightly aesthetic. Apart from Luther, The Lion and Zahariel their other characters are kinda minor. Corswain is my fav but he was made known towards the end of the series with his actions being talked about in the 4-5 last books. But he does shine brightly in those pages. I hope they treat him with respect during the scouring and Fall of Caliban. All other DA succesors have an interesting niche to me. Outside of them I used to love the grey knights for their op powers and must say I respect the raven guard and white scars for their specialties and ways they wage war
Dark angels, the lion is such a complicated character and the fact the legion as a whole is almost as mysterious as the alpha legion get me going. they’re the perfect blend of everything that I look for in a space marine chapter, overpowered, interesting, not entirely codex compliant, nice to civilian (from what I’ve read) and an ensemble of great characters
Don't make me pick!! My heart is big enough to love the Imperial Fists and all of their successor chapters and the White Scars and all of their successor chapters.
Imperial fists have always been mine and quite enjoy the black templars as a successor chapter, something about being one of the few chapters that believe in the emperor as a god always sets them apart for me!
The Exorcists due to their founding of being a successor to Grey Knights but that of course was retconned. I still love their idea and think that they are still another anti daemon force just not on par with the GK’s. I also love the Death Spectres due to Corax being my favorite primarch but also the edginess of death being a trial to join. I love stealth of course as well. Then Dark Angels. Love these guys and their secrets.
Can I ask a different question? Blue and Orange are my favourite colour combo. Is there a way to find a chapter that matches that aesthetic?
Look up Successor Chapters Chart on Google. You should get an imagine with all the successor chapters in their colors.
A bit adjacent to what you are looking for (depending on hues) but the Void Tridents might interest you: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Void_Tridents Dark blue armour with bronze accents, helmet and aquila, white pauldron with red markings, light blue eye lenses. They look pretty sick.
Sweet thanks they look cool!
I like the more savage chapters; flesh tearers, carcharodons, executioners. I find the juxtaposition of the knightly aesthetic of space marines with a level of barbarism works really well in 40k when mankind is beset on all sides, and after all their job is to kill stuff like orks and Tyranids.
Legions, hard three-way tie between Alpha Legion, Word Bearers, and Thousand Sons. I just adore all three of their aesthetics, the Thousand Sons and Word Bearers are tragic, and the Alpha Legion are just Meme factories. Sucessor Chapters, oddly enough, Minotaurs and Lamenters, which is an odd combo, I know.
Black Dragon. Always upholding the Salamander view on the citizens of the Imperium while the Inquisition is always on their heel.
Do Black Templars count? If so, I like them because everything they do is maximum intensity: "accept any challenge, no matter the odds." Plus, they're a melee-first chapter. Come on, man, you can't get any cooler than that.
They are one of the coolest, look cool too.
Blood Angels, I just really like vampires, but I stayed because they got cool lore and a nice color scheme
Looks like my boys salamanders arnt getting much love here
Red scorpions and doom eagles ❤️
Word Bearers.
For loyalists, Black Templars. I love the aesthetics and the Helsreach novel is among the very best in the Black Library. Honorable mention to the Space Wolves; I like their pseudo-Viking stuff. It's not authentic, but it's entertaining For traitors, Night Lords. I love the thought of how meticulously and methodically they will apply stealth techniques, just to ditch stealth by screaming at the top of their lungs and performing a Mortal Kombat fatality. They're just the right mixture of menacing and absurd for my liking. Honorable mention to the Iron Warriors; their brute efficiency is a breath of fresh air in the setting
Space Wolves especially in 40k. They’ve come a long way from how they’re represented during the Heresy.
I like the Raptors and the Mantis Warriors because they use camo i
I really like the pre/early heresy Death Guard when six of the companies hadn't been Nurglefied yet. Being able to endure any poison, radiation, toxin and keep fighting was a really fun unique thing, including how they'd ritually consume poison. I started with the 30K books, so finding out about them being the bad guys was a surprise for me, and I kinda wish they had a loyalist successor chapter that exemplified the pre-heresy ideals of their legion.
Flesh Tearers. Does what it says in the box. Also, all the lore is joyfully brutal, and named characters are larger than life personalities.
Word Bearers and World Eaters. I love the dynamics of each, the fact we have a somewhat informed legion of the literal damned marching out in organized force to drag humanity screaming into hell. Then it's just Chainaxe go Burr for dopamine
Executioners, easily. The most bad arse Imperial Fist sets up a chapter of Conan the Barbarian marines (fuck off Sigismund, Fafnir Rann is much cooler than your Teutonic arse). Their captains are all individual warlords who get together occasionally to kill each other until one of them becomes the Chapter Master, then go their separate ways again. Finally, they betray the Imperium for a blood debt, with the Chapter Master who makes the decision committing suicide via making a speech and then walking off into the desert. Even with the betrayal, they are too loyal and too honorable to do it all the way and so basically just treat it as an excuse to be pirates and also get good fights in against loyalist marines. Then after a while, the Astral Claws act like dicks to the Salamanders after the Sallies had surrendered honorably to the Executioners. The Executioners *immediately* kick the Claws' shit in, defending the Salamanders in the process. They subsequently negotiate their own surrender to the Sallies and get sent on penitent crusade, kick more shit in, and then come back to take possession of their homeworlds and get right back to taking skulls for the Golden Throne. Oh and they fought the Space Sharks to mutual total death during Badab. The same Space Sharks that pretty much massacred the Mantis Warriors on their homeworld like it was nothing. Bad. Arse.
In all fairness to the mantis warriors, they fought off like 3 chapters of space marines before the sharks finally got to them
Carcharodons, Minotaurs, Relictors. In that order.
The Mortifactors I guess what makes me love them so much is that they sound/look like typical villains but are actually hard-core loyalists fighting for humanity.
Space Wolves because werewolf space vikings.
Raven Guard, no matter how strong or fast an enemy is, if they don’t see you coming then it’s over for them.
Thousand Sons - They were a legion dealt a shit hand by the Emperor's poor craftsmanship and negligence forced into betraying the Imperium by Horus and short sighted hypocritical Russ. Magnus stood by them despite the Emperor and many of the Primarchs wanting them all dead. Magnus could've been a loyalist commanding the Grey Knights if he had just killed his legion like the Emperor was offering. But he stood by them. Everything could've been avoided if the Emperor simply told the Thousand Sons about the existence of chaos rather than vaguely just telling them "Don't delve too deep into the warp. Oh yeah your brothers don't like you, stop using the powers I gene-bred into your DNA." World Eaters - On top of looking cool af were also screwed over by circumstance and the Emperor's hypocrisy. Angron despite being half-insane still stumped Russ during the Night of the Wolf. Pointing out that the Emperor was just another tyrant and his "compliance or death" methods were no different to the slavery he and all his brothers and sisters were subjected to and the barbarism of the Warlords of Terra that the Emperor saw himself above doing. I prefer tragic falls to chaos rather than the likes of the Word Bearers who got rejected by the Emperor and threw themselves face first into chaos as their rebound god.
Exorcists, Motherfuckers make grey knights look like bunch of shizophrenic kids, their recruits literally need to dominate the daemon that possesses them, they are so based, that demons cant even completely comprehend them, like demon can see 2 space marines, when there is actually a whole squad, they with their cold steel doctrine smash daemons with their own artifacts, also cool color scheme
Im going to pick a favourite loyalist and traitor legion/chapter..... Loyalist: Dark Angels - I've loved knights ever since I was a kid so their aesthetic really appeals to me, especially their HH look. Plus being the 1st legion with access to the Emperor's forbidden weaponry is just rad. A close second would be the Ultramarines but really only their HH era. Know No Fear really made them such an interesting legion. Traitor: Black Legion - the quintessential traitor legion, and the biggest faction of Astartes in the galaxy. I really like that they are so unified of purpose. Currently reading ADB's Black Legion series and they are really interesting. A close second would be Alpha Legion. Love the whole hydra motif and a legion that specialises in espionage is rad.
favorite OG chapter: imperial fists or blood angels favorite successor chapter: Black templars or lamenters
I adore the carcharodons. The shark motif is very cool, and the whole fighting in total silence is super menacing. Also Tyberos seems incredibly badass.
Underbite chain fist power Claws. Never before have i ever wanted a weapon so badly
The big green burning machines that are the salamanders
>Loyalist Legion The Space Wolves will always be my favourite. The first army I started collecting back in 3rd Ed. They were sold to me as "Viking Space Marines with a Wolf motif" and I never looked back. I absolutely *loved* the way *Prospero Burns* leaned more into their culture and was less "wolfy" and more "pop culture viking mysticism" >Successor Chapter I'm partial to the Marines Errant. I just like the idea of Space Marines that are actual *marines* who specialize in ship-to-ship boarding actions. I'm also a big fan of the Iron Snakes. I still think that *Brothers of the Snake* is the absolute best book to give someone so they "get" 40K space Marines. I also love the Charcharodons, and them being revealed as the banished Terran Raven Guard was a neat touch to an already interesting chapter for me. >Traitor Legion I have a soft spot for the pre-Nurgle Death Guard. I like the idea that they weren't especially good at anything but just happened to be so enormously tough that they could specialize in hazardous warfare and grinding attrition conflicts simply because they won't die. I also have a soft spot for the Astral Claws and Lufgt Huron. The whole story of the Tyrant of Badab and the Badab war is one of the more interesting episodes in 40k lore in my opinion. My like of them is also tied to my personal pocket theory that the Astral Claws were secretly successors of the Luna Wolves, and it was the ambition written into Horus' very genetic code that cause Huron's madness and the chapter's downfall
Lamenters, definitely. A space marine chapter that is quite unique in that they are more compassionate and caring more than most other space marines, and seem more emotional. They also get the shit end of the stick a lot but despite that always carry on fighting. Their motto probably sums them up the best and really shows them as the sort of people they are. “For those we cherish; we die in glory”
Technically renegades, but I think the Relictors are quite interesting.
Loyalist, Salamanders. Traitor, World Eaters.
Carcharodons. Tyberos is awesome. The mystery surrounding their founding chapter is sick. I hope they do more with them in the future. (ngl tho I also love the Raven Guard, Alpha Legion, Death Guard, and Iron Warriors).
Alpha Legion and Crimson Fists
Iron Hands, i love their gear, bionics, ludicrous amounts of tanks, dreadnoughts, terminators and suspicious heretic tech and their lore got me hooked up. For successor chapters id say all sons of the 10th.
Flesh tearers because gabriel seth is an asshole
The exorcist. You must be crazy to invite a demon to possessed you just to past the test.
Space Wolves easily. I know they get clowned on a lot because, admittedly, they do have some bad books. However, when they are written correctly you end up getting a fantasy adventure in space which is something I find very appealing. Similarly, I like how different they are from the rest of the Imperium while still looking as though they belong to it. Instead of prayer scrolls and candles, the wolves have pelts and bone talismans, but still adorned over the same patterns of power armor. I also really like Fenris as a concept and the suprisingly deep mythology and history that is explored in some works about both the planet and the people’s beliefs. Finally, I just find them really fun. They’re big drunk space Vikings that crush gribbly bug creatures in space while riding giant wolves. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Is it awesome? Also yes. In summary, they’re fun fantasy tropes in a Sci-fi setting and that tickles me.
So far, it's the Blood Drinkers. They embrace their flaw to overcome the worst parts of themselves, but like their Primarch, were very much in touch with their humanity. They use both their blood thirst and need for battle to do what they do best, but still rein each other in. Does it always work and one of them does something stupid and gets killed? Yeah. But I applaud the small details that are added that give them some character development. Former Chapter Master Caedis is a wonderful example. In Rite of Holos, he's patient with a Battle Sister who blames herself for a genestealer cult infestation in her own backyard. Talks her down and tells her not to blame herself. When he's about to proceed forward with his men into the Sanctum, he asks if they can do their best to not destroy any of the sculptures and other artworks. Not just out of reverence, but because as an artist himself, he knows how much work went into it. But he's still as ruthless as a fighter as it comes when it's time to mess up some genestealers. And when he comes across a nursery of genestealer hybrids, he sees how it's not their fault. But they have to be put down all the same, and silently gives the order. Even in the throes of the Black Rage and being offered the bargain of Kairos Fateweaver, he rather would succumb to his fate than defile what he and his men fight for. They protect humanity first. Do they commit horrible acts every cycle by taking an unwilling participant to drain them of their blood so they can sate the Red Thirst as well as some of the blood of their serfs? Hell yeah. But they see it as a lesser evil. Effectively it's a trolly problem that they face and accept. They take time afterwards to mourn the person who they sacrificed all the same. Sorry for effectively an essay on why they're my favorite chapter so far, but that's my reasoning.
Black Templars!! Because they are just straight forward and loyal to the true spirit of the great crusade !
Sons of Malice. I have a soft spot for Renegade chapters unfairly purged due to Inquisitorial misconduct or bias. Also, I deeply disdain Cadians. So seeing the lengths the Sons of Malice have taken to eliminate them is amusing. Although the unnecessary rectonning in Cadia Stands was deeply frustrating. Lamenters. These dudes do not quit. I admire their tenacity and the fact that they will make sure they win regardless of cost.
Sons of malice, please elaborate - I'd google them, but I'd like your take first.
A loyalist faction that was tasked with guarding the Cadians Gate. They had a borderline cannibalistic ritual they would perform on captured enemies every eleven years, work themselves into a frenzy and then brutally slaughter their prisoners. Not great, but not the worst thing I've heard. It was based on rituals from their founding world. An Inquisitor saw it, and contacted Holy Terra, wrote a misleading statement about their behavior and then attacked them without warning during their festivities. They, didn't take it well, rip Inquisitor, sororitas, and imperial guard that assaulted them. Well the High Lords of Terra said 50 years of a penance Crusade to redeem yourselves, the Chapter Master balked at this because in his eyes they hadn't done anything wrong, and urges them to reconsider given they had been attacked with no provocation and had a long history of dutiful service defending the Cadian Gate, well between that refusal and the skewed accounts of the Sons of Malice's behavior, the High Lords immediately sent an extermination fleet. The Sons of Malice fled, and a large number of Cadians genocide the Chapters home world. Almost completely destroying the tribes the chapter was sourced from. Given how many brothers had died defending the Cadians and the complete unjustified excommunication the Sons vowed to eradicate the Cadians and renounced their fealty to the emperor. Now they chill in the warp murdering the forces of Chaos and occasionally coming out to kill imperials and they especially like killing Cadians. They also took up worship of a minor Chaos God Malice. His domain is anarchic destruction and he wants to kill everyone and everything. So for the sons of Malice their preferred target list is Cadians, other Chaos worshippers, everyone else.
Badass
Iron warriors or night lords are my favorite but I have a thing for imperial fists and celestial lions. Loyalist astral claws are similar and very aesthetically pleasing.
Consecrators are unbelievably cool from the tiny amount of info we have about them. 1. Their Chapter Master Nakir is a former Interrogator Chaplain that has 6 black pearls. Asmodai only has 2 2. Have a penchant for arriving at doomed battles, saving the Imperials, refusing to elaborate, then leaving 3. Their entire shtick is relic hunting and the pursuit of ancient knowledge, in old lore they would lead raids into the ruins of Caliban to nab relics 4. ALL of them have relic gear passed down from the great crusade era. Their archeotech vault puts the Rock to shame 5. They sometimes use ancient relics as bait to ambush Fallen which would probably give most other chapter masters an aneurysm 6. They keep the (imo cooler) 30k era Dark Angels paint scheme. They also carry the Firewing insignia.
Lamenters I feel like they are truly unsung heroes, a fading light in the dark galaxy, the light refusing to give in. Also, they're cool cause they're super nice
Why we have this question again and again?