Space Sharks
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| Space Sharks/Carcharodon Astra | ||
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| Battle Cry | "From the void we come - darkness there, and nothing more" Alternatively: [1] | |
| Founding | Unknown | |
| Successors of | Chimeric, primarily Raven Guard | |
| Successor Chapters | None (thankfully) | |
| Chapter Master | Tyberos the Red Wake | |
| Primarch | Originally Corvus Corax | |
| Homeworld | Fleet Based | |
| Strength | 1000 (ish) | |
| Specialty | Terror and scorched earth tactics, with brutal close combat preference. | |
| Allegiance | Imperium | |
| Colours | Grey, with black pauldrons and white helmet faces (and the occasional blood splatter) | |
"He could sense the Company Master's fury, the rage he was battling to keep in check. The Blindness was beckoning to him, that precipice poised above a black sea of hatred and needless slaughter-sacrifice."
- – Chief Librarian Te Kahurangi's assessment of 3rd Captain Akia
This is what happened when someone from Games Workshop watched Street Sharks and thought "there oughta be some spess mehrens like that." These guys call themselves "Carcharodons" (Carcharodon, pronounced "car-care-uh-dawn" is the scientific name for the genus which includes the Great White Shark and the prehistoric monster of one, the Carcharodon Megalodon), or Carcharodon Astra if they are being extra formal. They have light-grey skin and black eyes like sharks, and according to FFG they increase the resemblance by filing their teeth to be shark teeth. Their chapter logo is a white shark on its side and their colours are grey with black/dark grey shoulders. Once upon a time, they were light grey with a red stripe down the middle of their helmets and their logo was a stupid looking cartoon of a black shark with red eyes. Luckily, IA10 broomed that silliness under a rug and gave us what we have right now.
They're as mad as hell, even the Angry Marines might wanna think twice before cutting in front of them in line (hey, that would be a cool fight...)(YOU FUCKING WHAT LIKE WE'D LOSE TO A LOAD OF FISH FURRIES), and with enough blood lust to make a Space Wolf go "Well Damn...". They're described as sneaking into a place before going batshit insane with a rage probably comparable (carnage wise) to a feeding frenzy, a defining characteristic of their namesake. But, their rage is also controlled. So they're like Khorne Berzerkers (though maybe the pre-Angron War Hounds are a better comparison) mixed with the SAS SBS. Also comparable to the way Leman Russ conducted himself in battle. Outside of combat, they've been observed to be quite devout and even polite, albeit in a terse and tense fashion. It hearkens back to their shark theme, as sharks can be quite docile until they smell blood - after which they go batshit insane. They also like to cover their armour with Polynesian-looking tattoos (hunting sharks was a major rite of passage in some Polynesian societies). Also they try to stay quiet in combat, because they think it makes them cool sharks can't talk, however they do tend to roar loudly when charging. Their specialty seems to be committing indiscriminate genocide, sparing only children they can enslave into being Chapter serfs or turn into more Carcharodons (said children have to fight each other to the death). They also like to wear Heresy-era armour to give people more incentive to buy from Forge World (or it did until GeeDubs released reasonably priced Mk3 and 4 pattern armour).
Very old records say they were sent out on a crusade outside the borders of Imperium-controlled space to, for all intents and purposes, preemptively kill anything that may or may not be a future threat to the Imperium of Man. And to our best knowledge, they were promptly forgotten about, because when they showed up again, no one knew who the hell they were or what side they were on.
The Carcharodons come up in the Badab War, where it's kinda hinted that they're Raven Guard mutants or descended from those other deranged genocidal space marines - the Night Lords. Anywho, they're deployed to Afghanistan in space to fight the space Taliban and they solve the problem that the Fire Angels had been having by killing everybody to root out teh terrorists. Grimdark. Then they go over to Badab and blow the place up, ending the Badab War. Then they go back to the ashes of space Afghanistan and make a bunch of boys kill each other to become the next generation of Carcharodons before heading back out to smash someone else's planet. Also, according to rumor, they helped to trash Failbaddon's 7th Black Crusade.
Their leader is Tyberos the Red Wake, a badass motherfucker who couldn't decide if he liked lightning claws or chainfists better, so he made Hunger and Slake, a pair of Lightning Chainclaws... the ugly offspring of the two weapons after a couple glasses of Blacklabel and a night of extremely violent and questionable life choices, that allow him to one shot (swipe? stab?) Tyranid Carnifexes and Space Marine Dreadnoughts. This would usually make anyone else a mary sue, but this guy is so badass that he has earned immunity (so long as he doesn’t punch guys in space without wearing a helmet on. Though very quiet in the way of formal encounters, Tyberos, when war ensues, becomes something that nightmares piss themselves to think about. During the Badab War, Tyberos wrote a name for himself and his chapter across the surface of the planet in the blood of the Mantis Warriors. Clad in a set of ancient Terminator Armour, Tyberos was always on the front lines, and ensured that the traitors paid for all the trouble they caused in blood and resources, going about this task in the grimly silent fashion known to be common to the Carcharodons.
They are different from the Saharduin, who actually are sharks in space. They do, however, share the same battle cry.
Their beakies look fucking amazing.
Organization
The Sharks are a fleet-based chapter. At some point in their history, Rangu (their word for the Emperor) banished them from their home world and set them to hunt amongst the stars and slaughter the enemies of Man with no quarter. To this day, no one knows why they were banished. To this end, he granted the rite of Tithe; the Grey, all the physical material they needed for their duty, and the Red, a claim to prisoners, rebels, rejects, and other detritus for ship crew and potential recruits. They are explicitly forbidden from taking serving members of the Adeptus Terra (read - anyone from any other branch of the Imperium) in their tithing. The Grey Tithe is usually a semi-regular swap meet with allied members of the Mechanicum, bartering a few pieces of archeotech for freshly made materiel.
Another chapter wide trait is an intentional lack of ego and individuality. Line troopers are frequently given numerical designations when inducted. Each battle brother is only a part of the utility of the whole, leading Carcharodon command to eschew concepts like honour and pride-driven vengeance that drive other chapters to action. Only by following their ancient mandate of exile can they be worthy. They hope their actions (or more likely their descendants' actions) will redeem them for their crimes and allow them to return home, wherever that might originally be. Most chapter veterans don't believe this and channel their shame and remorse into meticulously violent murder.
The Carcharodons follow the battle half of the codex but ignore everything else about force organisation. Cruising around in the void beyond the galaxy's edge can be nasty business, and years without resupply or any kind of logistical support means they must be both flexible and resourceful. Each company practices high self-reliance - salvaging, repairing and re-purposing stuff to make sure it lasts as long as possible. This is why they sport so much working Heresy-era gear and why stuff like vehicles and Terminator armour are often kept together using a variety of patterns and models. Because of this, Techmarines are seldom seen on the battlefield. They also don't use reserve companies (realising that having 100 of the finest warriors sitting around doing nothing is fucking stupid). Each company is thought to be a self-contained force, with their own scouts and veterans, ensuring they've got guys for every situation on hand. This has drawbacks of course, as they can't simply ask for reinforcements from a reserve company and must make do; for this reason Apothecaries are prized and kept off the front lines since every Marine makes a difference. At the same time it means that they've got all their companies actively doing stuff.
It seems likely that their scorched earth campaign during the Badab War was in fact more of a violent looting spree, restocking the Carcharodons' inventory after having spent so long outside known space. Filling up on ammo, weapons, armor, supplies, and grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down, followed by the nails, and then everything that used to be nailed down, before destroying anything else the enemy could possibly have had a use for. We do know that they claimed a bunch of recruits post-Badab, and they probably do this after all their big campaigns (maybe every time they come back into contact with the Imperium). The Red Tithe novel appears to confirm this theory; the Carcharodons' 3rd Company, having just come off a nasty brawl with some Tyranids, rocked up to a remote Imperial prison planet with the intent of claiming all of its inmates as either serfs or potential recruits. A Night Lords warband had the same idea and arrived just before they did; the two groups proceeded to have a slight disagreement about who was going to empty out this wretched hive of scum and villainy. After several rounds of murder tag (and several thousand casualties later), the Carcharodons were victorious. They scooped up all the prisoners, stripped the place bare, and took off before Imperial reinforcements could arrive.
Gene-Seed Speculation
Many fa/tg/uys speculate that the Carcharodons were of Raven Guard or Night Lord descent, or possibly a loyalist remnant. A minority also speculated that they might be World Eater remnants, though since that seems to be the old Minotaurs' schtick it's probably not true. Most of the evidence for those theories is based on their military tactics and the few descriptions we had of marines outside of their armour.
Their favored tactics, relying heavily on stealth and surprise, would seem to fall in line with the Raven Guard's combat doctrines. However, their preference for close-combat, total slaughter, and the strategic use of terror put them at odds with the "tacticool operator" style of the modern Raven Guard. Forge World's Horus Heresy books (specifically Extermination and Retribution) explained this as being how the Terran members of the Legion (then called the Pale Nomads) fought before they were reunited with their Primarch. Between their brutality and penchant for enslaving their defeated enemies, Corax found them disturbingly reminiscent of the slave-masters he had freed Deliverance from, and so he ordered them exiled.
The "Ashen Claws", as they became later known, showed up in the Heresy in a few battles as an unpredictable neutral element just as likely to raid the traitors as they were to attack the Loyalists; while Outer Dark confirms the relationship between them and the Carcharadons, it is depicted as being rather strained and the book doesn't make it clear exactly how they are related. As the Ashen Claws had been known to steal gene-seed from other Marines, it is likely they have become chimeric in nature.
On the Tabletop
7th Edition
Carcharodons Chapter tactics gives all Space Marines models Fear, and allows Tactical marines to replace their bolters with a chainsword or keep it and buy an additional close combat weapon for 1pt each. In addition they gain Rage after destroying or forcing an infantry unit to fallback in close combat, however they must consolidate towards the nearest unit they can hurt (after all, the rape train has no brakes!). This can make stuff like Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines, or even bikes surprisingly dangerous. Even a full batch of 10 footslogging Tacticals with extra CC weapons can be a pretty scary thing to face up against. Also, Dreadnoughts with Fear and Rage? Yes please.
Tyberos, their believed Chapter Master, is quite the beast. He can destroy just about anything in the game in close combat. His Scent of Blood rule makes him and and any Carcharodon unit subject to Rage +1 strength for the rest of the game. He is reasonable enough to wear a helmet and does not carry a banner and a shitton of flashy trinkets on his armour, unlike most other chapter masters, whose wargear just screams "Shoot me down, sniper!" Also, allows you to take a unit of lightning claw equipped assault terminators as troops; and he and any unit he joins have preferred enemy (infantry).
You can only ally with Imperial Forces and all of those are bumped down to Desperate Allies. All this means that, with them, you play Horus Heresy World Eaters with Fear and all the shiny new toys of the 40k arsenal of Space Marines.
They also have a couple of unique psyker powers:
- "From The Depths": The librarian casting this causes his targets to become intensely frightened, hallucinating about being in the deep dark depths of the ocean, immobilizing their opponent so that the Carcharodons can finish the target without a fight.
- "Rending Maw": The librarian summons a giant spirit shark that comes up out of the ground and bites the shit out of anyone unlucky enough to be there at the time.
8th Edition
Currently, the only Carcharodons-specific thing in the game is Tyberos, in the Forge World Imperial Armour book. This go around he's got a standard Terminator CHAPTER MASTER profile (which means he's been upgraded to the same 4++ the others have) with an extra Attack and one less Ballistic Skill (which doesn't matter as he has no guns). Wargear-wise, Hunger and Slake are now unique weapons - a chainfist and lightning claw equivalent respectively, except Hunger has +1 Damage and Slake has +1 Damage and -1AP. In special rules terms he's got the standard Terminator CHAPTER MASTER ATSKNF, teleport deep strike and hit rerolls for CARCHARODONS within 6" (renamed Lord Reaper of the Void), but he also gives them +1 Strength thanks to his unique ability Savagery Beyond Reason (doesn't need activating any more, but it's now only a 6" bubble instead of the whole table). He's a great choice to lead a Deep Striking Assault Terminator squad, but at a little over 200 points you'll need to place him where he can do maximum damage to earn back that cost.
Codex Space Marines didn't bring any special joy for the Carcharodons. The White Scars Chapter Tactic is the GW-recommended "appropriate" one for them, even though they're (probably) Raven Guard successors (mostly because the Raven Guard tactic involves being sneaky rather than murdering the bloody fuck out of everything in melee). This gives them 2" of extra movement whenever they Advance, and allows them to charge the same turn they Fall Back. If you do choose to go with the Raven Guard one, enemies that are more than 12" away get -1 to hit you. Seeing as you'll probably be aiming to get right in their faces and stab them, this is probably a poor choice. You may want to claim the Raven Guard warlord trait if your opponent agrees to it though, as that prevents your warlord from taking overwatch fire. Alternatively, The Imperium's Sword from the generic list is pretty good for a stabby warlord.
Do bear in mind that if your opponent is a WAAC asshat, bringing Tyberos along will prevent you from using Defenders of Humanity or a Chapter Tactic from the Codex - he's got the CARCHARODONS keyword, which isn't on the list of approved keywords for using the codex-compliant chapter rules (so any detachments with him in technically can't use them). They'd have to be a pretty beardy motherfucker to pull this, but just be aware that someone might.
- note this is not true as page 195 gives the example of the Crimson Fists using the Imperial Fists tactic however it is clear they are still (Crimson Fists) they do not change their chapter keyword to Imperial Fists they just use the tactic with crimson in place. Further, in the article it states that unknown founding choose the tactic that best describes their fighting style so in this case you can have your Red Wake cake and eat it too, the waac asshats have no legs to stand on
- Here is an approximation of what 6th/7th edition rules would look like if they were updated to 8th, for the Carcharodons.
Warlord Trait: Carcharodons. Reavers of the Outer Darkness: Friendly CARCHARODON units within 6" gain: In the FIGHT phase, if this unit is fighting a unit that has lost any models, that unit being attacked reduces their Toughness by 1 for the remainder of the phase.
Carcharodon Ability: Blood Hunger: When Charging this unit has +2A, instead of +1A.