Fallen Champion
"Bolt shells and plasma blasts rain down from all sides as the Fallen Champions spring their ambush. Enemies reel in shock struggling to fight back against deadly attackers who already have them surrounded and trapped within their gun-sights. As the cacophony of battle fills the air, Cypher ghosts through the crossfire, eliminating one enemy target after another with salvos of pistol fire. The Fallen fight as a single force, maximizing their firepower and discipline to the detriment of their enemies. Even they do not know Cypher’s dark secrets, but they understand enough to never risk failure or apparent weakness under his gaze."
- – Games Workshop Store Description
Fallen Champions are the leaders of groups of Fallen Angels, and are usually Cypher's most trusted contemporaries and compatriots. As the elites of the renegade members of the First Legion, Fallen Champions are masters at subterfuge, escaping, Just As Planned, and pissing off the Unforgiven. Fallen Champions often school their fellow Fallen brethren on ways to avoid capture by the Dark Angels and provide a form of cohesive leadership for the Fallen. They can be seen as an equivalent of the vanilla Space Marine Captain and their skills throughout their long history are peerless, save for a few specialists and other exemplars.
During the events of Gathering Storm, Cypher and his cohorts of Champions and underlings, freed Grandpa Smurf from being turned into Kairos Fateweaver's personal bitch on board a Blackstone Fortress. They along with the Harlequins escorted the Primarch and his forces into Holy Terra itself. Unfortunately for the Fallen, Big Bobby G actually double crossed Cypher's forces cause Girlyman was suspicious of the mysterious sword that Cypher was holding. Sure enough, Cypher managed to escape the most heavily defended planet in the entire galaxy that is filled with the Emperor's finest, due to him being 40k's Houdini (he left the rest of the Fallen to rot).
As group leaders, Fallen Champions are equipped with high quality gear rivaling that of their loyal but equally suspicious brethren. A Fallen Champion may replace his Bolt Pistol and/or Close Combat Weapon with a Lightning Claw, Power Weapon or Power Fist. A Fallen Champion can also take Melta Bombs. The Fallen Champion may also replace one weapon with a Combi-weapon (Combi-flamer, Combi-melta or Combi-plasma) or a Plasma Pistol. They also wear more newer and modern power armour such as either the Mark IV: Maximus Armour or the Mark VII: Aquila Armour
In tabletop proper however, Fallen Champions are squad leaders in groups of Fallen. They also share their name with a formation choice, which consists of 1-3 groups of Fallen as well as Cypher.
| Forces of the Fallen | |
|---|---|
| Command: | Cypher - Fallen Champion |
| Troops: | Fallen |
| Flyers: | Stormtalon - Thunderhawk |
| Spacecraft: | Drop Pod |
| Allies: | Chaos Space Marines Space Marines (Dark Angels Exempted) |