Lord Solar Macharius
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Lord Solar Macharius is one of the greatest badasses in Imperial history. His tactical genius was so great that he would inspire Creed to follow his footsteps, 500 years later. During the Macharian Crusade, he more-or-less single-handedly pushed back Imperial borders to the greatest extent since the Great Crusade. He even has a tank named after him! He's got the martial skill of Straken, the tactical genius of Creed, and the determination of Yarrick. To put it in more understandable terms, he conquered a thousand worlds in a decade with only a few (compared to most Imperial armies) regiments. It is said that when he reached the edge of the galaxy and was told that they'd run out of planets to conquer, he dropped to his knees and wept manly tears. These tears then turned into more planets, which he then proceeded to conquer. It is also said that his forces would not travel beyond the light of the Astronomicon, just like Alexander the Great's forces would not enter India. His crusade is used to this day by Imperial academies as a textbook example of how to manage interstellar campaigns.
Way back in the dark days of 3rd edition, Macharius had rules in the Imperial Guard Codex and being quite bad. However, they removed him from later editions, joining the ranks of Cypher and Doomrider. His model is (was?) still available to purchase.
The Macharian Crusade (Novel Trilogy)
SPOILERS AHEAD
William King's Macharian Crusade trilogy gives a much more personal look at the man from the perspective of one of the soldiers under his command (later his most trusted bodyguard), Leo Lemuel. That's him rocking the IG cap in the above picture. The series gives us a really in-depth look at Macharius's character, and what we find is not very surprising. Macharius is an incredibly driven man who wholeheartedly and with no reservations or misgivings believes in the Imperium and the Emperor. He is a tactical genius without peer, a combatant almost on par with the Space Wolves, and the most inspiring motherfucker since Sebastian Thor. However, this supreme drive works against him and makes him somewhat obsessive. In the second novel, for example, some Dark Eldar stole a powerfist that Macharius thought was Leman Russ's from his flagship. Even with the Space Wolves doubting (but hoping) that it was Russ's, Macharius takes ONE ship back to fight the Dark Eldar who had already beaten him (granted it was through an accidental surprise attack that not even Macharius could have seen coming).
In the final book, it really comes to a head. Macharius is being hounded by the High Lords of Terra to return to Earth and accept medals and accolades and a triumph and to stop the crusade, as they were afraid he was carving out his own empire. Macharius's bestest Inquisitor buddy, Drake, also reveals to him that his juvenate treatments are failing and he will die soon. On top of this, the Crusade is too tired and has gone on too long. The soldiers are worn down and the generals want a piece of the pie when Macharius is removed (one way or another). To put the cap on Macharius's shitty final days, he was defeated on the Halo world of Loki by his former protege, Richter. This is the final straw and in defiance of the High Lords and calling upon every resource at his disposal (including the Space Wolves), Macharius assaults Loki for a final time with the intention of taking Richter's head.
The battle is fierce and Lemuel loses his remaining friends to the deadly forces of Nurgle. Macharius gets close enough to Richter for Drake to blast aside his defenses, allowing Macharius to TACKLE A TRANSCENDING DEMON PRINCE. Richter gets the upper hand, but Lemuel and his trusty shotgun are there to give Macharius the edge he needs to destroy Richter once and for all. After the battle, Drake summons Macharius to examine something in a side room away from everyone. There, Macharius reveals to Drake, Lemuel, and one of Drake's stormtroopers that he knows Drake was simply setting him up to be killed on Loki. Drake is accepting of this and while Macharius is smiling, triumphant once again in his Crusade, the stormtrooper shoots him in the back of the head before revealing herself as Anna, an assassin (possibly a Callidus) in Drake's employ. However, before Drake can revel in his own triumph, Anna shoots him as well, setting up a corpse as the assassin and Lemuel as the hero who was only a bit too late to save them. The series ends off with Lemuel wondering who she really worked for and what their motives were.
So what does this mean for the old fluff? Well, firstly it means Macharius never made it to the very edge of the galaxy and thus never had the moment where no one would follow him further (though the series got close on both counts). So we lose that awesome bit of manly tears. We do, however, gain a far less ambiguous death, and one that allows Macharius to die triumphant once again. The fluff of the generals starting the Macharian Heresy isn't effected, as they were already plotting against him, so nothing in the future need change. Overall, if nothing else it is a nice look at Macharius as a man instead of just an awesome figure from Imperial history.
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