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Darnath Lysander

2021-05-10T12:40:56Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

[[File:Lysanderart.jpg|450px|thumb|Lysander, proving that "Vanilla" is not bad.]]

{{Topquote|My kind were created to feel no fear, but we understand it. We were all once men who felt fear as does anyone else, and we must know it because it is a weapon we wield.|[[Awesome|The man himself]]}}

'''Darnath Lysander''' is the [[Brother-Captain|First Captain]] of the [[Imperial Fists]] [[Space Marine Chapter]]. He's a pretty cool dude. He wears yellow and [[Meme|doesn't afraid of anything]]. Really quite the fun guy to be around. [[Rape|Apparently the rapetrain comes in yellow now]].

== Backstory ==
Lysander has what might be one of the manliest back-stories of all time. His backstory begins as a kid of only 13. After surviving a Waaagh! and a heresy, he was recruited on Holy Terra because a captain thought he was the second coming of Dorn. He murdered what we can only assume were scores of chaos. He also boarded and captured the Eldar vessel named the Blood of Khaine. It is generally accepted that the Blood of Khaine had the Avatar of Khaine onboard, so we can only assume that Lysander tore it apart with his bare hands. Unfortunately, other factions began powergaming, trying to stop Lysander and company from doing the incredibly cheesy tactic of Drop-pods and Teleport homers, so the cultists used Warp dickery to mishap a squad of Terminators into a mountainside. As his Captain lay dying, he saw it fit to bestow Lysander with the Fist of Dorn, the coolest looking Thunder Hammer that ever was. Lysander then killed all of the stupid chaos cultists (with said hammer), then got promoted to Captain.

For years, Lysander terrorized the galaxy with the Fist of Dorn, deep striking himself and other Terminators into other enemy squads and shoving fist-hammer up anus and similar hole alike, just like how you play him tabletop. He later happened upon an Alpha Legion base, and tore them to shreds. All of them. Years later, as he was chilling with some Terminators on their way to Deep Strike some poor xenos, he got stuck in a warp storm and was lost. During this time stuck in the Warp storm, he probably roamed the warp with Draigo, beating the everloving shit out of whatever poor demon they met. A thousand years of demon-killing later, he re-emerged back into regular space. Chaos-held space.

Immediately captured by Iron Warriors under the command of Warsmith [[Shon'tu]] (the self-proclaimed reincarnation of an infamous warlord of the same name who ruled during the Dark Age of Technology), who blew up his ship, then captured him and some of the survivors. The mad Warsmith then tortured them for a few weeks on their fortress world of Malodrax in between bouts of ranting about "his" past exploits. Tired of the Iron Warrior's shit, Lysander broke his way out of Malodrax's capital with his bare hands, leaving a trail of death and destruction. He broke out of a fortress-world full of Chaos Space Marines specialized in fortified positions and close combat. [[Awesome|Naked]].

After returning to Imperial space, he was screened for all types of daemonette STD's and for traces of heresy. Amazingly, he was clean. Being the oldest Space Marine alive (except for Dante), he was promoted back to captain of the first company. His first act was to go back to the Iron Warrior fortress world of Malodrax, and destroy all that remained. Due to his rampage earlier, he succeeded in destroying a few untoppled buildings and Chaos UNICEF, but Shon'tu... well, here is where things get fuzzy. In the book ''Malodrax'' Lysander beats the everliving shit out of the Warsmith of Malodrax, using special Inquisition anti-Marine poison for good measure. However, the book never actually gives the Warsmith's name, just that Lysander knew who he was. Why is this important? Because every other source makes it clear Shon'tu had long since escaped Malodrax and Lysander never found him.

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/147213864/m1180071-Space-Marines-Datasheet-Terminator-Titanhammer-Squads Today, he walks around with his hammer and his hammer-wielding buddies whacking at the ankles of Traitor Titans].

==A Bad Boss==
{{MattWard}}
Darnath Lysander is not the sort of person you'd want as your employer. Even amongst genetically enhanced religious fanatics indoctrinated from childhood to genocide all deviants to death, he has a reputation for being a bit of a cockhead. For example, once upon a time, the Imperial Fists 3rd Company was surrounded by Iron Warriors, their Captain was killed, and the company was almost annihilated. The few survivors of the ordeal would later learn that reinforcements from the Blood Angels and Ultramarines were in the system and available for rapid deployment at any time, but Lysander, the commander of the Imperial Fists on the planet, was too proud to accept their aid, [[File:Lysander.jpg|450px|thumb|The poster-boy of the Imperial fists.]]instead preferring to allow his marines to die in great, heaping mounds. In fact, during the subsequent trial, Lysander continued to deny that their assistance was ever needed and even suggested that if the Ultramarines hadn't intervened, he would have slain the Warsmith commanding their forces. (Incidentally, the Warsmith in question was none other than Shon'tu, which suggests that Lysander was motivated by revenge and not just stubbornness.) While Chapter Master Vladimir Pugh considered stripping him of his rank for allowing the unnecessary deaths of so many of his men, doing so ran the risk of causing a split in the Chapter, as many believed Lysander's actions to be heroic instead of the byproduct of a single-minded obsession with revenge against the Iron Warriors. As a compromise, he merely demoted Lysander to the rank of 3rd Company Captain (and promptly reassigned them to a crusade against the Orks, much to Lysander's disappointment).

In the book Architect of Fate, Lysander was attached to an Imperial Fist garrison on board a star fortress, so he clearly goes where he wants when he wants to. Continuing the theme of being a bad boss, he murdered the astropath so that a clandestine call for reinforcements wouldn't get out (the astro knew it was coming, and was okay with it in the end, so not so bad we guess?), had his injured [[Techmarine]] possessed so that he could kill a daemon dead, and manipulated the enemy [[Warsmith]] into unleashing his pet greater daemon so that his reinforcements could kill it. He won in the end, but lost at least one star fortress and got a lot of his own killed in the process. The theme there was that Lysander thought that no price for victory against Chaos was too steep, which just reinforces him as being pretty obsessive about revenge against Chaos, no matter how much it hurts his own side in the end. Although, if it really is that he's so obsessed with fighting Chaos, he should put his pride as secondary rather than refusing reinforcements and the like. On the other hand, putting fewer forces into harm's way when it is not '''''strictly absolutely definitively''''' necessary does have its own merits.

[http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/638/6021/original.jpg This is not bullshit, this is actually canon.] Unsurprisingly, this garbage was written by everyone's favorite serial [[Matthew Ward|canon]]-[[Robin Cruddace|rapists]]; see [http://thegoodthebadtheinsulting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/sentinels-of-terra-part-2-lore.html THIS] and [http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/281122-sentinels-of-terra-a-sm-supplement/?p=3479977 THIS]. Cuz, you know, Ward will fling his own poo at every Chapter Master other than his beloved Papa Smurf in order to make [[Marneus Calgar|him]] look good. Then again, considering Lysander's tendencies towards [[Malal|being a self-destructive teamkiller just so he can destroy the forces of Chaos]], [[Just As Planned|something sinister may be afoot here]]. If you gaze in the abyss, the abyss gazes into you; and Lysander's behavior is strangly reminiscent of his hated enemies disdain for every other thing in order to secure victory. Or he just has trouble remembering that not everyone has 2+ and 3++ saves, Eternal Warrior and 4 wounds like he does.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Captain Lysander:''' || 230 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 3 || 10 || 2+/3++
|}

Lysander is tough. Do not fight Lysander. He will win. He has a captain's stat line with an extra wound and a bunch of fun toys. Basics first, he has ATSKNF and Chapter Tactics (Imperial Fists: Bolter Drills, which Lysander gives 0 shits about), plus he has Eternal Warrior. His warlord trait gives him FNP, as if he needed more durability, and a unique rule "Icon of Obstinacy" that makes your space marines within 12" know no fear (rerolling morale checks!） Because they really needed that. For toys he has a suit of terminator armor for a good save, plus he has a storm shield and the "Fist of Dorn" which is a thunder hammer that strikes at strength 10 AP2.

Lysander is dead 'ard and dead killy. Seriously, not only is this fucker striking at strength 10, he's got 2+/3++/5+++ with eternal warrior and he WILL NOT run away from you. While he's no tactical genius, Lysander will take most challengers that dare to step up. Seriously, even [[Marneus Calgar|The]] [[Dante|Big]] [[Logan Grimnar|Three]], or [[Smashfucker]] will have trouble with this guy. By mathhammer he'll only consistently lose to a few independent character challengers like [[Kaldor Draigo]], [[Asterion Moloc]], [[Abaddon]], or [[Phoenix Lord|a few of the Phoenix Lords]], like [[Phoenix Lord#Jain_Zar|Jain Zar]] or [[Phoenix Lord#Asurmen|Asurmen]], with his "Fuck-Your-Eternal-Warrior" 1-shot sword.
===8th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
! Captain Lysander
| 130 || 5 || 2+r1 || 2+r1 || 4 || 4 || 6 || 4 || 9(10)rf || 2+/3++
|-
! || colspan=2 | Range || colspan=2 | Type || S || AP || D || colspan=3 | Abilities
|-
! Fist of Dorn
| colspan=2 | Melee || colspan=2 | Melee || +6 || -3 || 3 || colspan=3 |
|}

*'''Special Rules'''
**'''Angels of Death''': Basically Shock Assault, making him hit 5 times when charging or charged.
**'''{{W40Kkeyword|Imperial Fists}}''': Still useless on him.
**'''Deep Strike'''
**'''Icon of Obstinacy''': Only 1 '''IMPERIAL FIST''' model may flee as a result of a failed morale test within 6".
**'''Rites of Battle''': Re-roll hit rolls of 1 for friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<CHAPTER>}} units within 6".
**'''Warlord Trait''': ''Indomitable'': Cannot be wounded by wound rolls of 1-3, regardless of the weapon's Strength characteristic. Makes him considerable harder to shift due to effectively ignoring 50% of all wounds.
*'''Wargear'''
**Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Fist of Dorn

Lysander has a captain's stat line with an extra Ld (which usually won't matter) and his chapter tactics are also usually irrelevant - he has no weapons to ignore cover saves with, and he lacks any guns he'd want to use on a building. His warlord trait means that even overcharged plasma and Knights can only wound him on a 4+ or better. The big seller is his melee weapon, which acts like a Thunder Hammer without the to-hit penalty and with an additional +2S, although if you give him an S buff you'll notice that it isn't a normal thunder hammer - e.g. under ''Might of Heroes'', he'll go to S11, not S12. This difference will tend to be insignificant, however, as he's already strong enough to flatten even Knights with a good thwack.

{{Marines-Characters}}

Salamanders (Chapter)

2021-05-08T01:23:58Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Salamanders
|Heraldry = [[File:Salamanders.png]]
|Battle Cry = "Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of war!", "For the Emperor and His people!", and [https://youtu.be/M56aycpd9kA?t=52 "VULKAN LIVES *stomp* *stomp*"]
|Number = XVIII
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = Dragon Warriors
|Successor Chapters = [[Covenant of Fire]], [[Black Vipers]], [[Dragonspears]], [[Black Priors]] and [[Dark Krakens]]. [[Storm Giants]], [[Black Dragons]], and [[Fire Lords]] are suspected.
|Chapter Master = [[Tu'Shan]]
|Primarch = [[Vulkan]]
|Forge Father = [[Vulkan He'stan]]
|Homeworld = [[Nocturne]]
|Specialty = Flamers and Meltas, bitch slapping the [[Marines Malevolent]]
|Strength = 940 (1 Veteran Company, 6 Battle Companies, 1 Scout Company)* confirmed in novel "Rebirth"
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Green, black, gold
}}
Not to be confused with the [[Salamander]], a mythical beast. Nor real world Amphibians of the clade ''Urodela''.

{{Topquote|I define manhood simply: Men should be [[Ferrus Manus|tough]], [[Roboute Guilliman|fair]] and [[Sanguinius|courageous]], never [[Marines Malevolent|petty]]. Never [[Angron|looking for a fight]] but [[Leman Russ|never backing from one]] either.|John Wayne}}
{{Topquote|The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.|GK. Chesterton}}
{{Topquote|I fell into a burnin' ring of fire I went down, down, down And the flames went higher And it burns, burns, burns The ring of fire, the ring of fire|Johnny Cash, summing up the Salamander's thoughts during battle}}

The [[Salamanders]] are one of the [[First Founding]] [[Space Marine]] [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. They are a very notable and fairly-popular chapter for two chief reasons: first, they're known for their love of [[flamer]] and [[melta]] weapons, preferences for [[Rip and tear|brutal close-quarters combat]], and their [[Black Dragons|pitch-black skin color]] as a testament of their [[Mordor|volcanic homeworld]], [[Nocturne]]. Secondly, and arguably more profoundly, they're some of the closest things [[Grimdark|this fucked-up galaxy has]] to heroes: on top of having a complete unwillingness to retreat or surrender, they are well-known for being [[This Guy|fairly nice guys with a code of honor]], especially by [[Marines Malevolent|space marine standards]]. Matters are definitely helped by the existence of their Primarch, [[Vulkan]], who presents a [[Gay|93.6% mathematical chance]] he'll be the the [[Awesome|coolest son-of-a-bitch]] [[Reasonable Marines|you're ever going to meet.]] Sadly, and in no short part due to [[Matthew Ward|Our Spiritual Liege himself]], they are arguably the most shit-upon Chapter fluff-wise, besides the [[Lamenters]] of course. The chapter is named after the [[Salamander|mythological fire-lizard]] of the same name.

==The Early Crusade==
The XVIIIth legion were one of three legions, the others being the [[Space Wolves | VIth]] and the [[Alpha Legion | XXth]], that were established separate from the other legions. The reason they were kept in separation is currently unknown, and the mystery behind the separation led to the distrust of each one. It's implied that all three were supposed to specialize in something.

Whatever the cause of separation, the first publicly known deployment of the XVIIIth was near the end of the Unification Wars. As a foreshadowing of things to come, the XVIIIth legion's force of 20000 was reduced to 1000, but they still achieved a victory against seemingly impossible odds.
As their heavy losses delayed their deployment to the Great Crusade, they didn't get their own expeditionary fleet. Instead, they were deployed in small groups to reinforce different expeditions and battle groups. They were especially noted for dealing with emergencies behind the Imperial borders, like the sudden appearance of space hulks, or eldar raiders. The sudden nature of these emergencies meant that the XVIIIth were often the only marines available, so they had to cooperate closely with humans, and bear the brunt of the heaviest fighting.

The XVIIIth would develop a weird reputation. On one hand, they were saviors. On another hand, if a bunch of the XVIIIth were coming, it probably meant things were seriously going to shit. Eventually, Imperial observers began to notice that the marines of the legion seemed to have an obsession with facing impossible odds. They would fight on even when it seemed more reasonable to fall back, and on more than one incident, their stubborness earned criticism. The XVIIIth's suicidal tendencies, coupled with their high battlefield losses, led to some Imperials started debating when they would go extinct.

Fortunately, Vulkan was found, and after rescuing his Terran sons from what would have been a devastating ork attack, would temper his sons, so they would become more reasonable and less suicidal.

==Chapter Composition==
The Salamanders are a [[Space Marine]] chapter based on the Death World Nocturne. Nocturne is a volcanic planet with some truly ridiculous ''shifting'' gravity. As such, its people developed a slow, methodical approach to life, coupled with a healthy [[Dwarf fortress|<s>fetish</s> respect for fire]]. Salamanders have somewhat slower reaction time compared to other Astartes (but still blindingly fast compared to humans). In the fluff, this is said to be a result of Salamanders being almost universally cautious and methodical in their thinking, rather than a geneseed malfunction. The planet's only other reason for continued settlement is its rich mineral deposits, making metalworking an important profession to the point of bordering on a priesthood as well as a hotly-contested supply world. These traits carried over to the Salamanders, who are known amongst other things for fielding tough, hard-to-break units and for giving every man and his servo-skull a flamer or melta gun.(Put a couple of C'tan with the Lord of Fire power in your Necron army for the lulz.) They are also well known for making almost all of their own equipment personally, with each man held responsible for making and maintaining his own wargear. They import the few things they cannot manufacture on their home world directly from the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], who likes them more than the [[Space_Wolves#Daily_rituals_of_a_Space_Wolf|ungrateful dicks who keep using up all their ammunition on drills and "practice fights"]]. The rest of their wargear is made by the Chapter artificers and Techmarines and they produce some of the best armor and weapons of any marine chapter, because they're not busy repairing every scratch on the armor of the other 940 (1 Veteran Company, 6 Battle Companies, 1 Scout Company). The result is that each marine is equipped with practically master-crafted weapons and wears near-artificer level armor. For comparison, Artificer armor is basically equal to terminator armor in capabilities. Their entire chapter is like that.

Despite the relative stability and purity of their gene-seed the Salamanders have no confirmed Successors. Two Chapters - the Storm Giants and Black Dragons - are rumored to be descendants, but these are merely rumors, and the Salamanders themselves claim kinship with no other Chapter, probably because they wish to avoid payin' dat muhfuggen child supp-{{blam|'''*FWOOM*'''}} Ahem, this is probably because the Salamanders didn't take part in the Second Founding. They never were a very big legion, and were even less so after Istvaan and the Heresy. When old Rowboat decided to split the legions, the Salamanders were exempted from splitting into chapters (so, ''technically,'' the Salamanders are still a Legion, they didn't even change their organization much), and in subsequent foundings were either simply passed over in favor of chapters with more plentiful gene-seed to go around, ''or'' descendant chapters (like the Storm Giants and Black Dragons) ''were'' made later, just without the knowledge or involvement of the Salamanders themselves.

Or maybe the Salamanders and Vulkan are so trusted that they’ve been allowed to rebuild as a legion and operate as such with tens or hundreds of thousands of Space Marines but are so noble and beloved that even the High Lords of Terra can’t bring themselves to be bothered by it. Their exemption to splitting into Chapters never ended, after all. Heck, maybe they don’t even solely recruit from Nocturne as all legions are allowed to recruit from Terra but the Imperial Fists are the only Chapter that does so. Chapter, but the Salamanders are still a legion as they never separated and surely having a bunch of Terran Marines (who usually remained loyal even in the Traitor Legions) among them would ease the politicians’ concerns.

Unfortunately, because [[Nick Kyme]] won't let anyone else touch them, and hasn't done anything further with them himself, the 40k fluff of the Salamanders has effectively been stuck in limbo for several years now. Outside of the Salamanders books (which, judging from recent codices, may not even be fully canon anymore), we know next to ''nothing'' of what exactly the Salamanders have been up to in the 41st Millennium, and they haven't been involved with ''any'' recent fluff events or campaigns. The one chapter that we'd ''really'' like to see fighting the good fight and keeping hope alive during the 13 Black Crusade is the one that we hear ''nothing'' from while the galaxy goes to hell. [[rage|Fuck]].

==Peculiarities==
[[File:Salalmander cover.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A fetish for fire]]
The Salamanders themselves are perhaps the most bro-tier of all Space Marine chapters, the [[Lamenters]], [[Space Wolves]], and [[Celestial Lions]] coming in behind them in that order. Unlike most other chapters, Salamanders maintain close ties with their original families, giving them a very human connection with the non-augmented people they are charged with protecting. Strong ties as in often living with their families like normal, real life Marines would when off-duty. They regularly act in thankless rearguard or civilian defense actions, as seen on [[Armageddon]], and rather than spend their free time in their super-awesome orbital fortress monastery, they hang out on the planet's surface chilling with the locals, many actually living 'normal' lives among the people as chieftains, teachers, guardians (basically following in the footsteps of their Primarch), or simply wandering the planet as hermits when not on active combat duty.

In terms of tactics, the Salamanders are one of the simpler chapters: "Wait for it...", "Burn that shit", and "Never say die" are about the sum of their tactics. The number of heat-based weapons they can field is truly alarming, as is a [[Vulkan He'stan|certain special character]] of theirs who can make them ''all'' twin-linked, and another that makes all Melta tagged guns mastercrafted. The fact that each man repairs and maintains his own armor ensures that their chapter Artificers can be free to make truly awesome stuff. They field almost exclusively treaded vehicles, as the gravitic antics of Nocturne's moon Prometheus (really more of a planet) tend to cause anti-grav plating to freak the fuck out.

Of course, if you ask a [[fa/tg/uy]] what comes to mind first when they hear the word "Salamanders," there's a good chance you'll get a quip involving African-Americans in some way, ranging from the shenanigans recorded below to quotes from folks like Samuel L. Jackson or Shaft. This is because, due to their Melanchromic Organ becoming hyperactive in response to the ludicrous amounts of background radiation on Nocturne, all Salamanders are black. We're not talking coal black or African-descent black (though before receiving their geneseed the warriors of Nocturne are dark-skinned), we're talking blackhole pitch black, hexadecimal code #000000, the missing word in the phrase "...as the void of space." That kind of black, with glowing red eyes. There were some issues due to miscommunication (like the painter for the Eye of Terror campaign making them a nice chocolatey brown when GW asked for "black" Salamanders) but by the 5th Edition Space Marine codex things had pretty much settled down, many pictures of Salamanders are now with Caucasian facial features with just the skin being black, and eyes fiery red just like it was supposed to be. People still make the blaxploitation jokes because, well, it's an easy joke to make and the Salamanders don't really have a cultural motif of their own that it could clash with. And let's face it, the idea of Samuel L. Jackson as a Space Marine burninating shit or unloading a bolter sideways is just too cool to pass up. Contrast with the [[Celestial Lions]], who ''are'' a chapter of black people in space but don't get the same treatment because they have an established cultural motif, namely being cool space Africans and having a fiddly paint scheme. This does beg the question though: if the Salamanders aren't supposed to be space Africans, why does GW have African-sounding voices for the Salamanders in audiobooks and official videos? The answer is laziness.

The 8th Edition supplement also brings up that those red eyes have their own perk: Limited heat sensing! Being the bunch of pyromaniacs, the chapter then decided to decorate their gear so that it emits heat in such ways that their eyes can pick it up, but not be visible to the unaugmented eye. What this doesn't account for is something like, say, a xenos predator with a honed ability to sense heat.

In addition to those mutations, their geneseed also gives them an abnormally hardy constitution, even for a space marine. The Salamanders are much more resistant to radiation and cellular damage than other space marine chapters. This is likely a perk of having a [[perpetual]] Primarch, though it may just be one of the quirks coded into their gene-seed by the Emperor.

And if that wasn't enough, the ally matrix in Forge World's Horus Heresy spin-off demonstrates that the Salamanders were the most liked of all the legions. Seriously, the only factions rivaling them for good ties are the Imperial army and the Mechanicum (who everyone kisses up to anyway). Hilariously, one of the 3 chapters they dislike (though not enough to put them on red terms with anyone) are the [[Ultramarines]]. They weren't fans of the [[Word Bearers]] either, even before the whole [[Horus Heresy|Heresy]] and ritual murder-torture thing.

==Vulkan's Legacy==
According to the Salamander's legends, [[Vulkan]] left <s>legendary loot</s> nine relics scattered across the galaxy as a sort of scavenger hunt for his sons. If you believe the stories, when the Salamanders find all nine horcruxes, their Primarch will return to lead them into a glorious future, the enemies of Mankind will be slain, the children of Nocturne will find flamers and meltas under their pillows, the Imperium will return to glory, blah blah, we've all heard the "Primarch Returns to Kick Ass" story. Of the nine relics, the Salamanders have found five. The first three are carried into battle by the Forgefather: the Spear of Vulkan (a master crafted relic flaming spear that can burn through ceramite or adamantium), Kesare's Mantle (a cloak of adamantium and scales that offers the same protection as a storm shield), the Gauntlet of the Forge (a bitchin glove that can spew fire better than a heavy flamer. Not to mention having a digital gun like those of the [[Jokaero]] in each finger). The last two stay at home: the Eye of Vulcan, an almost comically large laser defense array that can one shot a battle barge, and the Forge Ship, Chalice of Fire, whose industrial output can supply the Salamander's entire chapter(!) and then some. The remaining four relics are only named, not described, and they are: the Engine of Woes; the Obsidian Chariot; the Unbound Flame (Which some believe to be Vulkan himself - that was the codename the Salamanders called him during the Great Crusade); and the Song of Entropy.

The full story, as revealed by the novel "Sons of the Forge", was that the first Forgefather, T’kell, was tasked with destroying all weapons created by Vulkan save for seven of the nine aforementioned relics. The planet which they originally planned to store these relics was overrun by Sons of Horus and the Dark Mechanicum. The Salamanders escaped with the relics, but the Shattered Legion warband who saved them from the Traitors also wanted to use the relics to attempt assassinating Horus, which was contrary to Vulkan's wish. The Salamanders fought against their Loyalist brothers and ran away. What happened after, saved for the Chalice of Fire being attacked, was unknown. When Vulkan He'stan found the ship, he discovered that the relics carried inside had all gone away.

The moral of the story is that when you invent things like this, share it with the rest of the Imperium. Unlike Vulkan.

==Organization==
Unlike many followers of the Codex Astartes, the Salamanders have actually adopted a different organization for their army: the Salamanders organize themselves in Great Companies rather than the typical codex companies, with 6 companies of 120+ warriors each in addition to a smaller scout "company" of roughly 60 men and their officers. Of the six companies, the first is a veteran company, the second through fourth are battle companies, and the fifth and sixth are reserve companies. The reason they do so is because these seven companies represent the seven ruling houses of Nocturne, a manner akin to the [[Iron Hands]] naming each company after the ten founding clans of [[Medusa]].

===The Dark Imperium and 8th Edition===
The Chapter organization was tweaked ''slightly'' (or given more detail, depending on who you ask) with the coming of 8th Edition. Each Company now patterns itself after the seven warrior Houses of the original Salamanders Legion, which were in turn influenced by the great settlements of Nocturne.

The First Company (or Great House now) is still composed of the Chapter Veterans and led by their Chapter Master, while the seventh is still primarily composed of neophytes, but the second to sixth Great Houses are now all considered "battle" or "line" companies, each featuring their own complement of battleline and fire support squads. Only the second to fourth Great Houses have close-support squads though. The total manpower of each Great House is no longer mentioned, but one can assume that if totaled together, the number of Marines would still approximate the size of a "codex" chapter (meaning 1000 marines plus auxiliaries and officers). This means the Salamanders accidentally applied common sense and didn't get executed for it. Because they now don't have reserves sitting oh say a few months or years away while only half their Chapter is doing anything in the galaxy. ~~And yes, that means that by and large, only half of the Space Marines in the galaxy are actually deployed on missions while the rest do nothing but wait for someone to die in a battle company.~~ Except squads from the reserve companies are often seconded out as needed and attached to other strike forces for other conflicts.

The other peculiarity is that the position of Master of the Forge is jointly shared between three Techmarines. It's unknown why this is, but it's possible the three have different roles.

As part of the revisions done by [[Roboute Guilliman]] to the [[Codex Astartes]] upon his return, the Salamanders now feature Lieutenants, whose role in the Chapter (aside from commanding demi-companies) is to serve as bodyguards to their Company Captain. One now wonders why said Captains don't have their [[Command Squad]]s for that role instead...

==Daily Rituals of a Salamander==
The daily rituals of the Salamanders take noticeably longer than other Chapters due to Nocturnean pragmatism...and the times are due to...well...you know...

* 12:00: "Morning" Prayer: The Salamanders are roused to begin the day with a few litanies from the Promethean Cult. All battle brothers worship only by the pilot lights of their flamers.

* 13:00: "Morning" Firing Rituals: The Salamanders practice their firing skills. Usually using [[Flamer|flamers]] or [[Meltagun|meltaguns]] instead of bolters. The Chapter serfs often have to put out the fires that the Salamanders inadvertently and inevitably cause.

* 15:00: Battle practice: The Salamanders descend to the practice cages. Cages have usually been repaired from all the burn damage from the previous day by that point. Any Tyranids who happen to be a part of this battle practice will usually be part of the next meal.

* 18:00: Hammer time: The Salamanders take to the maintenance of their wargear while also forging new weapons and armor. The Adeptus Mechanicus often drools, wishing they could be anywhere near as good.

* 20:00: "Midday" meal: A light meal prepared by the chapter serfs is consumed. Carolina Reaper peppers are usually a component of the meal. Ghost peppers are employed for occasions when the Salamanders have esteemed guests from outside the chapter. If for any reason, a battle brother suffers indigestion, the Apothecary will administer the ancient Terran compound "Peptobismol" to remedy it.

* 21:00: Pimping of the Rides: The Rhinos, Land Raiders, and Predators are pimped out with sufficient bling, preferably flame like components, as that attracts [[Adepta Sororitas|girls]].

* 22:00: "Afternoon" Firing Rituals: The Salamanders again take to practicing their firing skills, again using flamers and meltaguns instead of bolters. This time, they are more careful, so that they do not cause the civilians more work than necessary.

* 00:00: "Evening" meal: A feast prepared by the Chapter serfs is consumed. The meal usually consists of an ancient Terran fruit called a "Watermelon" and a helping of a flightless, avian animal, fried to a crisp according to a legendary ritual dating back to the Dark Age of Technology. Beverages usually consist of an ancient Terran form of malt liquor called "Old English" or just "Ol' E". On special occasions they may even break out an ancient carbonated drink referred to as "Cristal".

* 01:00: Free time: The Salamanders are given free time from their duties. Some reflect on their duty to the Emperor. Others go and commune with the folks in the Sanctuary Cities on Nocturne, often partaking in an ancient Terran game commonly referred to as "hoops", or compulsively forge new suits of artificer armor.

* 04:00: Lights out: The Salamanders retire for the "evening". Before they go to bed, they shed a manly tear for the [[Lamenters]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Salamanders.jpg|Sorry Sarge, but your Thunderhammer is Epic Fail.
Image:Salamanderswarriors.jpg|If at first you don't succeed. Twin-linked goodness.
Image:Salamanderslib.jpg|Kill it with FIRE! Always!
File:Vantablack.JPG|Introducing Citadel's newest addition to their product line, Salamander Black.
File:Salamander KFC.jpg|The tenth Relic of Vulkan.
Image:Salamanders_Dreadnought_by_igorvet.jpg|Even in death, I still Burn Shit Up!
Image:Choppy_reviews__salamanders_by_everyday_grind_comic-d651hma.jpg|In all honesty though, they're pretty nice guys...
Image:Salamandaww.jpg|They're even great with children!
Image:Captain samuel motherfuckones jacksones.jpg|We can dig it.
Image:Strolling salamander space marine by dlshadowwolf.jpg|When not embattled or training Salamanders fraternize with the citizens of the Imperium.
Image:Carnifex and space marine by dlshadowwolf.jpg|You assaulted the wrong hive-world, muthafucka.
File:Vulkan's Artificer Armour.jpg|Vulkan He'stan's artificer suit; note the "inverted watermelon" colour scheme.
File:SalamandersArmaggeddon.jpg|Sometimes even [['Eavy Metal]] gets it wrong.
File:ApostatePreacher.jpg|The salamanders are harried wherever they go by the Kabal of Kaos, dread cultists of the daemon prince Mu'nmahn.
File:Ooohlawd.jpg|Oooh lawdy lawd, is dat sum [[Heresy|HERESY?!]]
</gallery>

{{Marines-Official}}

Iron Hands

2021-04-28T15:50:38Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Iron Hands
|Heraldry = [[Image:Iron_Hands_Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = The Flesh Is Weak! ("Iron Prevails!" is sometimes chanted after)
|Number = X
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = Stormwalkers
|Successor Chapters = [[Brazen Claws]], [[Iron Lords]], [[Red Talons]], [[Sons of Medusa]], [[Steel Confessors]]
|Chapter Master = [[Kardan Stronos]]/The Great Clan Council
|Primarch = [[Ferrus Manus]] the Gorgon
|Homeworld = [[Medusa (Planet)|Medusa]]
|Specialty = Bionics, mechanized warfare, and being assholes
|Strength = 1000 Marines
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Black and White
}}

{{Topquote|With steel we are stronger, but without a soul we are nothing.|[[Kardan Stronos]]}}

{{Topquote|Flesh withers, but iron serves eternal!|A variation of their original battle cry}}

The '''Iron Hands''' were the X Legion of the [[Space Marines]] during the [[Great Crusade]] and the [[Horus Heresy]]. Their [[Primarch]] was [[Ferrus Manus]]. It's subtler than [[Space Wolves|GW's]] [[White Scars|usual]], but they have a strong resemblance to the Scottish, what with their Clans, gruff demeanor, undeniable backbone, expertise in technology, and tendency to lose despite their badassery - In fact, the 8.5 Supplement mentions the first stock of the X Legion hailing from the region known as "Old Albia". Their names come from a different country of clannish highland badasses, namely Afghanistan. Also, the Iron Hands are masters of mechanised warfare, boasting a great deal of tanks, aircraft and Dreadnoughts. They're basically the best armourmasters amongst the Space Marines, and are adept at both out-manuvering and out-playing their foes when it comes to land warfare. If you want really good vehicles as LSM, Iron Hands are really the way to go, especially given that they now get some fantastic rules due to the new rules for Space Marines.

It’s kind of weird that their robotic replacements are as strong or stronger than their flesh, though. Astartes without powered armor consistently demonstrate strength beyond what any amount of enhancement can provide, so there clearly must be Warp shenanigans involved with their gene-seed and enhancements. We can imagine this extends to their robot limbs because space magic, since even powerful Mechanicus robotics fail before the strength of Astartes. Yet, robotic Astartes limbs apparently don’t have that problem.

==History==
[[File:Iron Hands Space Marine.jpeg|thumb|left|An Iron Hands Space Marine. Notice the iron hands of this Iron Hands.]]
===Past and Present===
The '''Iron Hands''' are, like most of their fellow chapters who originated from the first founding, completely bat shit crazy. The chapter worships their ancient Father who got a bad case of worms and ended up with silver metal-coated hands (sounds a bit like the 18th century method of using mercury to cure Syphilis) and subsequently now believe that flesh is weak and as a result the marines try to copy their Primarch and replace their body parts with machinery and cybernetic implants (right down to emotion inhibitors post-Heresy), which Ferrus himself was actually against, believing that they should trust in the strength of their flesh rather than attempting to improve upon the Emperor's work. This is all part of an undoubtedly Freudian complex brought about by the loss of their primarch during the Drop Site Massacre on Isstvan V. Of course, the chapter decided to blame everyone, '''especially''' the [[Emperor's Children|legion]] whose [[Fulgrim|primarch]] shortened [[Ferrus Manus]] by a head at neck level. Incidentally, this also includes '''Ferrus himself''', as they came to the conclusion that it was their Primarch's own failure to control his emotions that led to the series of tactical blunders which culminated in his death (even though he didn't make tactical blunders and died because of betrayal, but the Iron Hands have a hard-on (pun!) for the blame-game). In order to prevent this from repeating, the surviving captains (with possible meddling by the Mechanicus) enacted ''"The Tempering"'', which saw the Iron Hands purge and repress their emotions in order to better emulate cold, logical machines.

In spite of all this weirdness and being part of the [[First Founding]], the Iron Hands remain one of the most forgettable Chapters among [[Games Workshop]] and the fandom at large. Seriously, [[Feral World Religion|even /tg/ forgets about them half the time.]] The only chapter who has it worse are the [[Raven Guard]], barring [[Kayvaan Shrike]]. To add self mutilation and cybernetic enhancement (insult) to injury, those who do remember them often get confused with the [[Iron Warriors]], and these people are worse than heretics because at least a Heretic knows the difference between "corn" and "Khorne", but the term Iron seems to confuse many. Leading to much fuck'tardery comments like "Iron Within, Iron Without", these people are total bell-ends and deserve to be scorned (Or would that be, sKhorned?). With the publication of the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' books the powers that be have finally begun to remember that the Iron Hands were one of the original Space Marine Legions, but aside from their Primarch in resin courtesy of [[Forge World]] they've been graced with only two other named characters But Iron Hands don't care cause they are too busy kicking arse, taking names and getting shit done. That said, they really are the Emperor's Tin Men in every sense of the word. In 7th they got their own codex supplement (providing the world at large with a [[Chapter Master Smashfucker|certain slightly competitive character]]) which made them astartes army of the week, but in 8th they got back to their usual niche, causing the tournament players to shelve them again. With Deathwatch having no unit entry for Killteam Cassius any more, the Iron Hands are left with only one named character, a Primaris Marine named Iron Father Ferrios. Damn Ultrasmurfs and the fan wank they get.....

'''Alternative View''': The Iron Hands are the best examples of humans during grief. They feel horrible shame as a result of their Primarch's death, and so act like, and actually become, machines in order to not repeat an error they saw in themselves. They feel so horribly, bitterly afraid to fail again, that they take every precaution against failure. It is in this grief that ironically, they show feeling. It is a shame /tg/ forgets about them, because a philosophical analysis of these warriors actually reveals quite a bit about human nature during tragedy.

===The Moirae Schism===
After the Emperor's <s>death</s> glorious ascent to the Golden Throne, there was a bit of debate as to whether He was the Omnissiah or not and, if he was, in what capacity. Tech-priests of the Forge World Moirae found one unique answer, when they detected an anomaly in some Empyrean frequencies that seemed related to the Golden Throne. After extended analysis, they somehow turned this anomaly into a formula which allegedly predicted the future—the endgame of which was a new understanding of the Emperor in his aspect of the Omnissiah that would unite the Ecclesiarchy and the Mechanicum, and usher in a new golden age of the Imperium.

Needless to say, this [[Skub|deeply pissed off]] the leadership of both organizations. However, either the creed or it’s alleged evidence proved extremely compelling, and the Moirae heresy spread like wildfire through Mechanicum data nets and the Ecclesiarchal flock. This nearly lead to a full blown civil war, and, in the end, the Forge World of Moirae was subject to Exterminatus, and the schismatics either burned for heresy or forced to repent, while the only surviving copy of their dogma and prophecies was buried in an Inquisitorial vault.

Rather than debate it among themselves, the Iron Hands chose to glare angrily at one another until the Admech were done fighting and debating it out. The group of Hands in the minority became the [[Sons of Medusa]] and formed their own chapter, which moved into the still-smoking ruin of Moirae as their new home world (or rather, a series of fortified asteroids in the same system). Despite the extreme levels of [[heresy]], everyone kept a level head and remained (relatively—there was a touch of shooting) civil, and all successor Chapters (except the [[Red Talons]], who killed them) allowed their schismatics to join the Sons of Medusa Chapter. Which is a bit unnatural for 40k, honestly, and just shows how few fucks these guys have to give.

[[Grimdark|Of course]], as it later turned out, the prophecies made by the Moirae heretics included both the formation of the Great Rift and the return of Guilliman, implying that everything they were saying was totally right.

Besides, the real confusion is how those who were pissed about a prophecy that confirms the beliefs of the Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus’s views of the Emperor being one being justified their anger to themselves and the wider Imperium. And shooting people claiming the Emperor would return and bring humanity into a new Golden Age sounds like incredible heresy.

However, this could likely be due to factional differences being put over the good of mankind. The Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus are too far apart in beliefs to ever truly unite into one group- they may work together, but they'd never intend to JOIN together. The symbolism of this can even be seen with the positions in the [[High Lords of Terra]], where the Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus Representatives constantly jostle for the second highest position (neither are strong enough to take on the Master of the [[Administratum]]).

===The Gaudinian Heresy and its results (aka: [[Skub]])===
This event appeared in the ''Clan Raukaan'' supplement and it was meant as a form of character development for the whole chapter - whether or not it actually worked, on the other hand, is questionable. It's given more detail in David Guymer's Iron Hand Novels. To understand it further one should look at one of the people that was part of it.

Iron Father [[Dick|Kristos]] of the Iron Hands was an individual that would be described as questionable in many ways. An individual that was adherent to the extreme to the Tempering, Kristos was known as a legendary leader of the Iron Hands, and was baited by Iron Father Feirros to take charge of Clan Raukaan after the company suffered greatly in the Skarvus Ambush and lead it to victory. Under his command the clan managed to even retreat against the Eldar on the Garden World of Dawnbreak, going directly for the main force around an excavation site the Eldar occupied and taking it, while ignoring the [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|Catachans]] and civilians the Eldar were butchering (not to mention telling the General to fight on and prove his worth while he and his subordinate Captain Graevaar ran off like the cowardly bitches they were).

The questionable part with him was about the controversy around the battle for the Forge World of Columnus against the [[Orks|Weirdwaaagh!]] where the Iron Council accused him of deliberately sacrificing a company's worth of [[Raven Guard]] marines to achieve victory, which in all fairness, he did do. It was all done in such a way that many in the council accused him of not doing it out of standard cold logic and pragmatism, but personal feelings and a hidden agenda, which was also true: not only did he refuse to assist them in any way, (or accept their assistance) he also actively blocked their communications which left them stranded and dying while he watched, [[FAIL|committing ''outright fucking treason'' against the Imperium by doing so]]; lives are the Emperor's currency, and he just went around pissing away the lives, relics, and gene-seed of some of the Emperor's most valuable troops out of a [[Iron Warriors|massive childish grudge]].

However, Kristos had himself a cult of personality that refused to accept anything that didn't sing his praises, and found him and his supporters unapologetic despite protests from Captain Verox, Iron Father Marrus and the then young [[Kardan Stronos]] (though why no-one outside the Chapter took them to task over this or even asked about the RG's fate remains unknown, despite literal centuries passing and there near-certainly being evidence of the deed). This would result in the chapter being divided over their philosophy as the whole investigation into his conduct ended into a debate on the merits of the Tempering. That would prove a load of horrible problems later on, only to reach its conclusion during the Gaudinian Heresy.

The Sapphire King, a Slaaneshi daemon [[FAIL|formed out of Ferrus' rage and frustration at the time of his death]] and which fed on the repressed emotions and shed humanity of the soul-scarred Iron Hands, saw them ripe for corruption and set a trap on the planet of Gaudinia Prime in the Gaudinia system, [[Soul Drinkers|because that always works so well.]] The Iron Hands sniffed out the heresy at the beginning of the 41st Millennium and Iron Father Kristos ([[Butthurt|still stinking after the Kristosian Conclave]]) led most of the Chapter to fight on the planet while exterminating mutants and heretics on the other planets. The Emperor's Children were supposedly only on Gaudinia Prime, but to the Iron Hands' surprise, there was absolutely nobody on the planet - not even a single gaudily-painted [[Noise Marine]]. However, scans showed that large amount of bio-signatures were concentrated in the planet's southern hemisphere in the factoria complexes. [[Fail|Kristos took with himself both Clans Raukaan and Sorgoll and waltzed into the area despite the Iron Fathers Stronos and Verrox protesting the action]].

Down there he found one billion of Imperial citizens fused into some scary techno-organic construct with the machinery. Bloated human torsos made into boilers, screaming as steaming blood vented from their eyes. Daemon weapons were churned out on fleshy conveyor belts by the motion of a million tongues. The marines moved on while Kristos was bewitched by the whole thing. At that moment, Kristos rammed one of his mechadendrites into the fleshy thing ([[Derp|because why not]]) and transformed into a cybernetic version of [[Chaos Spawn|that whose name shouldn't be called out-loud]] along with the rest of the Kristosians, and those who didn't were torn apart (among them Kristos's closest ally, Captain Graevaar). Tears into reality were opening and Slaaneshi daemons were appearing en-masse, swiftly followed by the Sapphire King himself appearing through a rift with his Emperor's Children retinue. What later happened was a battle mixed with madness as Iron Hands had to fight against their corrupt brethren, the daemons, and chaos marines.

While the battle raged, more and more Iron Hands were succumbing to the warping effects that turned the Kristosians into what they became, while others didn't succumb. Through the power of [[Plot Armor|lazy writing]], Stronos quickly realized what was happening. He activated his vox and barked orders to the marines to deactivate their emotion inhibitors. In that moment the Iron Hands exploded with emotions that they repressed for ten thousand years. It was so powerful even [[Khorne]] felt it at the back of his skull, and could be viewed a [[Derp|really stupid move as daemons are supposed to be powered by raw emotion, and this should have made them a lot harder to kill]]. Filled with [[Plot Armor|sheer rage and true determination]], the Iron Hands [[RIP AND TEAR|RIPPED AND TORE]] their way through their corrupted brethren, the daemons and Emperor's Children towards the Sapphire King. Stronos slew the thing that was once Kristos while the [[Librarian]] Epistolary Lydriik beheaded the Sapphire King himself with the Mindforge Stave so hard that, [[derp|combined with being deprived of the repressed emotions that were now free]], the daemon was permanently killed for good. After wiping out the chaos forces, the remaining Iron Hands, disgusted and horrified with what they experienced, skedaddled back to their fleet and [[Exterminatus|blew the factoria to kingdom come]] in order to wipe out any survivors left.

After the whole thing, it was discovered that a third of the council was either dead or corrupted. If the Inquisition knew what happened to them, then the consequences would've been fatal for the sons of Manus. The Kristosians took the whole thing with the Tempering way too literally (as in completely cutting off their emotions and replacing them with cold logic), and this obsession with purging themselves of their emotions (a core tenet of theirs) was what would be the chapter's undoing, according to the author. [[Irony|Ironically, every failing that had to do with this whole incident was directly related to getting ''too'' emotional and not from lacking emotions]]. In an emergency session, the council babbled and argued about how the chapter should function. At this point Stronos unplugged himself while rising from his throne and, in his natural voice, spoke that the chapter was given a gift: [[AWESOME|''"With steel we are stronger, but without a soul we are nothing."'']] Words that would be eternally immortalized all over the chapter's Ironglass plaques on Medusa and beyond. It was also the first time in ten millennia that the sound of applause would be heard on Medusa. And that's something...

On that day Kardan Stronos became [[Chapter Master Smashfucker]] (and would be re-elected at every single opportunity by the council) despite the disquiet of the few remaining Kristosians (aka older Iron Hands players) that somehow survived the situation and the Voice of Mars (the seat the AdMech were retconned into having on the council so that they could manipulate the chapter), yet even with what he said it wouldn't reverse ten millennia of indoctrination. It would be a long and difficult period for the sons of the Gorgon, but it was indeed a new beginning for the chapter.

The Gaudinian Heresy wasn't an immediate character shift for the chapter, and was arguably forgotten about. The Iron Hands are still angry cyborgs operating on cold calculation. Yet the council saw the Imperium plunging into darkness and their former allies falling to madness and corruption. Thus the Grand Calculation set forth to determine where they would serve best, and their successor chapters would also be included into the equation.

There is still some hope for the Iron Hands even if Stronos bites it. [[Star Wars|An Iron Hands pilot found better performance from his craft's machine spirit once he eased off with brute logic and started ''feeling'' it a bit more.]]

===13th Black Crusade and the Great Rift/8th Edition===

The Iron Hands are no longer sacrificing their allies for total pragmatism or out of past grievances but trying to change their habits. Under Stronos, they have saved the Imperial Guard on a number of occasions.

Medusa was invaded twice, first by a large tank division of Traitor Guardsmen and later by a coalition of Nurgle-worshipping Chaos Astartes. As they were facing a chapter which excels in mechanized warfare and are living in what we can shortly describe as mobile fortress-cities bristling with guns and angry superhuman cyborgs: all of them failed. After they got their affairs in order, they decided to assist in the Mordian system, slowly being overrun by loosed traitors and assorted heretics (Is that what we're calling daemonic invasions these days? It was daemons). Though the Imperial forces stationed there were starting to retreat, the Iron Hands managed to turn things around and salvage the planet of [[Mordian Iron Guard|Mordian]] with help from their renowned regiment. This served to rouse their successor chapters (even those weird Sons of Medusa lads) as well as a couple other chapters to join cause and clean out the system. The Eldar had shown up before the Iron Hands and told the Mordians to evacuate as the planet was lost. As usual, human badassery proved the Spelfdar wrong. Stoopid spelves. Maybe if they'd gotten off their prissy asses and shot some daemons, Mordian would've been just fine before the Iron Hands showed up to kick ass.(Though knowing Eldar and their “just as planned” shenanigans, they might’ve told the guardsmen to give up so they would end up staying just to spite the Xenos scum...and coincidentally keep the planet alive long enough for the Iron Hands to show up.)

==Organisation==
The chapter itself is ruled by the Great Clan Council, composed up of 10 seats, each representing one of the ten clans (the Iron Hand equivalent of a company). The clans themselves are all highly autonomous and are nomadic, travelling across Medusa in mobile fortresses and represent the original ten clans that founded Medusa. Each clan nominates a notable warrior to nominate as "Iron Father" represent them at the Great Clan Council and together, the ten warriors get into all sorts of [[A Game of Pretend|debates and political shenanigans]]. The logic behind this is that with no central leadership role, the chapter cannot be lead astray like so many others have and if that central leadership dies, the rest of the chapter won't fall into disarray. This immediately makes the Iron Hands smarter then the rest of the fucking [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe because they're smart enough to realise that having everyone led by a de facto dictator was a pretty retarded idea. Then again, they also believe that replacing their dicks with drills is the best fucking idea in the world, so I suppose your mileage may vary. (And the fact that /tg/ considers this sort of setup as fucking ridiculous based on [[Codex Astartes|where the suggestion comes from]], so again, your mileage may vary.)

That said, they do have a kinda chapter master. When something major happens that affects the whole chapter, the council elects one of their members best suited for their current state (the real life citation was the old republic of rome, who elected for a short time a rightful and strong man as dictator until the emergency was resolved). For example, if they're fighting orks the one who has the most experience fighting them will lead the chapter, and once done he will step down. This makes him more of a Chapter President really with checks and balances, the chapter master checks the council from getting caught up in red tape and the council makes sure he doesn't lead the chapter astray.

Organisation and doctrine wise, the chapter follows the basic idea of the [[Codex Astartes]], while changing all the bits they don't like or cannot follow due to the heavy losses/destruction of equipment at Isstvan V (yup 10,000 years later and the Departmento Mmunitorum has not yet resupplied them, fucking REMF's). Each company is called a "Clan" and there isn't a specific company for Scouts; instead each Clan recruits their own Neophytes...until 7th Edition just effectively undid that and let the Tenth Clan-Company return to Scouts and Vanguards. Once the recruit is indoctrinated, his left hand is replaced with a cybernetic replacement. The 8.5E supplement does note curiosity that the Tenth doesn't subscribe entirely to the clannish behavior of the rest of the chapter, as all marines will possess at least one piece of tech from them (a vertebra, first of hopefully many that also acts as a supplement of a traditional chapter's service studs, as each vertebra will denote a decade of service to a particular clan), though those who hail from the Tenth Company do remain as Scout Sergeants and Vanguards.

As an Iron Hand serves his Chapter he gets more and more augmented: appendages, limbs, organs; the whole shebang until the Marine is little more than a brain in a shell. There are also rumours that dead warriors are instead replaced with automatons rather then new Neophytes - Something not entirely false as augmetics have been harvested and handed down to future generations and the chapter is very rigorous about the indoctrination via uploads as well as emotional suppressors. Because of their extensive augmentation the Iron Hands are amongst the strongest Space Marines: strong enough to dual-wield weapons that regular Space Marines would need both hands for like the [[Melta|Multi-Melta]]. Due to the destruction of equipment at the Drop Site Massacre, the chapter lacks in Terminator armour. However veterans are often given suits of Terminator armour and placed in charge of leading squads, called "Klaven", of Tactical Marines, who see the suits [[Pauldrons|giant pauldrons]] as inspirational. Which means that the Iron Hands ''do'' have at least one hundred suits of Terminator armor because one hundred squads in the Chapter = one hundred squad leaders = one hundred suits of Terminator armor (which each Chapter is meant to have). In fact, they have '''more''' than one hundred suits of Terminator armor as their Helfathers operate in groups as honor guards and they are equipped with Terminator armor. Additionally, Dreadnought chassis are highly revered and sought after pieces of equipment, and being entombed within a Dreadnought is the considered the best fate possible for an Iron Hands Marine. Finally, due to their shared love of machines the Iron Hands and [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] are pretty much bros 4 lyfe, with much Bromance and fist bumping.
[[File:Iron_Dakka.jpg|300px|thumb|left|The Iron Hands are the most gritty of the First Founders. You could even call it... True Grit. Also, yes that guy is dual wielding Boltguns, which would be extremely inaccurate if the firer in question did not have a pair of metal arms and a bionic face that compensated for that. Or, y’know, super-strength as a super-soldier.]] The one general expception to this is the Librarius of the Chapter, who tend not to get heavily augmented (and often still have both organic hands) and are frequently not Medusan.

In combat they are utterly unforgiving and relentless, hate [[Daemon|Daemons]] and the [[warp]] with a [[Angry Marines|rare and intense hatred]] and utterly despise [[heresy]] and [[blam|cowardice]]. In other words, they're pretty much like most Space Marine Chapters. During one particular campaign involving the rebellion of an entire sub-sector, the Iron Hands got in and [[Rip and Tear|fucked shit up so bad]] that they executed a third of the sub-sector's entire population. That is not killed. [[Commissar|Executed]]. As in the ones they did not kill in battle, and those who surrendered and begged for mercy. Despite this they are seen by some as a wholesome and pious chapter, unlike [[Flesh Tearers|some others that murder everything within sight regardless of whose side they're on]] [[Marines Malevolent|or level refugee camps because there are hostiles within the perimeter.]] Either way, don't piss them off lest you fuel their murderboner; and whilst on the subject of boners, it is believed they hate [[Slaanesh]] with the [[Rage|intense hatred]] of a billion [[Æonic Orb|Æonic Orbs]] because they're the Prince of Excess and the Iron Hands believe THE FLESH IS WEAK (the previously-mentioned one-third-of-a-subsector-getting-[[blam|blammed]] was because of Slaaneshi orgies and daemons). This could mean they are more apt at fighting the minions of She Who Thirsts, but there is, as all things Iron Hands related, not much to elaborate on this except they are getting shit done. (It could also be due to their particularly strong hatred of the [[Emperor's Children|Emperor's Children]], for a long list of reasons that include [[Fulgrim|a certain Primarch]] decapitating [[Ferrus Manus|a certain other Primarch]].)

There's also the tactic known as "The Hammer and the Storm", a military doctrine that dates back to a peculiar conflict on Rust during the [[Great Crusade]]. The basis of it was essentially to gather the entire enemy force in one location with one force, then gather the rest of the army to surround and eradicate the gathered enemy with a nonstop hail of firepower. There's nothing subtle about the tactic, and it appeals to the heavy-weapon and tank fetish of the technophiles. What it doesn't factor in, however, is that it won't factor in the enemy's intelligence, meaning that a competent enough strategist might realize that they're being clumped together and then orders the troops to disperse far enough to spoil any ability to blast them all at once.

In the Book "The Eye of Medusa" by David Guymer there is a description for "Helfathers", the Honorguard of the Ironfathers and [[Mary Sue|the best of the best]]. They're clad in black, bulky and heavily augmented suites of Terminator Armour. They have neither Clan nor Klaven-Ensignia on their armour and even their bionics are darkened and ancient. There is the superstition that the attention of an Helfather is bad luck, [[Awesome|even among Iron Hands]]. [[Kardan Stronos]], at the time squad leader told his accompanying tech adept:"[[Grimdark|The Helfathers aren't even human in the the way I am human]]. I don't know how many of them exist. I never heard any of them speak. As far as I know, they don't even have names. And believe me, Melitan Yolanis, [[Grimdark|I don't wish to know any more]]".
It's also said that they rarely, if ever, leave Medusa, so we won't see any rules for them anytime soon.

Unless we already did... in two Heresy short stories by John French, an Iron Hands warband starts using the "Keys of Hel". This was Meduson tech that Ferrus himself had forbidden and sealed away, including the means of "true mechanical resurrection". The narrator in the second refers to his multiple deaths. So this suggests that the Helfathers may be renowned warriors who who haven't just been wounded unto death, but outright killed and brought back.

===Company Clans===
*'''Clan Avernii''': The "Veteran" Company. Due to the way the clans are made, it's not exactly true that each member is indeed a veteran, but they tend to make up for the lost time through many uploads, countless simulations and hypno-indoctrination. While this does result in a critical attrition rate, it also makes them far more robotic.
*'''Clan Garrsak''': Believe in using willpower to suppress emotions. Their plans tend to be very thoroughly planned in advance thanks to simulations and even time instances where they can cut loose for a bit.
*'''Clan Raukaan''': The dangerous mofos. It seems to be a clan trait that they are ruled by emotions more openly than others, as attested to during that Gaudinian Heresy. While this has cost countless lives, it has also brought them renown both in and out of the chapter.
*'''Clan Kaargul''': Their plans tend to be very long-term and meticulous in regard to contingencies. They treat melee as an absolute last resort, after having exhausted all other venues.
*'''Clan Haarmek''': Watch over the countless tech-relics on Medusa. This duty is so critical to them that if a relic is stolen from their watch and not retrieved, then the captain responsible is stripped of rank and forced to undertake the Silver Pilgrimage practically naked, a quest that demands the disgraced captain find a single scale from the wyrm that Manus slew.
*'''Clan Sorrgol''': Responsible to watching over the Medusan Expanse, the fiefdom that the Iron Hands prize for supplies.
*'''Clan Borrgos''': Apparent remnants of the [[Moirae Schism]] who weren't deemed extreme enough to be booted to the [[Sons of Medusa]]. Is often accompanied by Chaplains. The current Iron Captain also subscribes to purges.
*'''Clan Morlaag''': Focus their strategy into a single killing blow rather than a hundred weaker ones.They also have a lot of trophies kept in their fort.
*'''Clan Vurgaan''': Being deemed too wild, this clan tends to have the most emotion-inhibitors installed. These inhibitors tend to have long-reaching effects, for even after they are removed the brothers of this clan tend to display tics from their reliance on the augmetics.
*'''Clan Dorrvok''': The closest thing the chapter has to a Scout Company post-7th. The company itself is compared to a sort of alloy, as scouts from all clans are gathered here, with those native to Dorrvok just remaining as veteran scouts and Infiltrators. Furthering that analogy is their component of the Forgechain, a symbolic augmetic that replaces a vertebra and marks a decade in service to a particular clan - While all the other companies get to make their vertebrae in all sorts of exotic metals otherwise unique to their clan, Dorrvok makes theirs out of an alloy of all these metals as a symbol of their shared origins.

==Gene-seed body dysphoria?==
The Iron Hands love to replace their body parts with bionics, but these bionics actually do little to improve upon their already superior physiology. It's possible that the Iron Hands suffer from body dysphoria, seeing weakness in themselves where there is none. This is all but stated in an analysis by a senior tech-priest in the novel ''Wrath of Iron''. This psychological illness likely comes from their gene-seed, since they all suffer it. It's not a far-fetched hypothesis, because the Blood Angels also suffer from a common mental illness passed on through their gene-seed: the Red Thirst.

==Tabletop==
Good news is they got a much needed bone in 6th edition. Robin Cruddace realized how stupid it was for a chapter with close ties to the Ad-mech to not have a lot of gear; they're now loaded with tanks, aircraft, and dreadnoughts. Their variation of Chapter Tactics gives all marines 6+ FNP (which is a great bonus that will save a few marines here and there, but is not something to be built around), all of their characters and vehicles get It Will Not Die, and [[Techmarine|Techmarines/Masters of the Forge]] get +1 to Blessings of the Omnissiah. The strength in this particular set of Chapter Tactics is that basically every single model benefits from it, allowing you to play a wider selection of builds while still playing to its strengths.

...And then they get their own supplement, ''Clan Raukaan''. Interesting, it would seem GW is dealing with not knowing what to do with them by portraying the Chapter as full of contradictions, such as despite the clans being autonomous they do act like Codex companies. Apparently the Codex Astartes was simply "more logical" than the admittedly terrible idea of telling Guilliman and Dorn to go fuck themselves.

Also, [[Derp|the codex kinda skimped on the fluff]]. The Contqual campaign is pared down to mostly just the final battle on the Shardenus hub, and Supplement: Raukaan skips it entirely, instead introducing the Gaudinian Heresy (see above) instead of the campaign mentioned all over the fucking promotional material. It's also deeply suspicious that for a Chapter which must absolutely revere their Apothecaries, potentially folding them into their Techmarines like Space Wolves and Blood Angels do with their Chaplains, since they'd be the ones in charge of installing new cybernetics, their fluff consistently yammers on about their Techmarines and just doesn't discuss their Apothecaries at any great length.

Crunch-wise in 8th edition, it doesn't seem so crap. They've kept their 6+ FNP from 7th edition although as of the rulings on Disgusting Resilience they have to roll it for each point of damage, not wound now. That said, ignoring 16.6% of all incoming damage is helpful. Like all chapter tactics however the rule [[Fail|doesn't effect vehicles and the Iron Hands no longer gain a benefit to fixing tanks either.]] Changed as of 8.5 Marine Codex, with everything in the codex except Servitors gaining Chapter Tactics, as well as the chapter tactics themselves letting marines hit Overwatch on a 5 or 6, and Vehicles counting their wounds as double the remaining number for damage tables, as well as the 6+ Feel No Pain. [[Cheese|This also applies to Forgeworld models like Relic Leviathans, and the Astraeus Tank]]. Indeed, it seems that the Iron Hands' specialism of armored warfare has swung over busted for the sake of overcompensation.

With their own codex supplement, Iron Hands are gaining a named character in the form of Iron Father [[Malkaan Feirros]], as well as bonuses for being a pure Iron Hands army, such as ignoring movement penalties for heavy weapons while the Devastator combat doctrine (+1ap for heavy Weapons) is active, six warlord traits, relics, special issue Wargear, and the Technomancy psychic discipline. [[Chapter Master Smashfucker]] rides again?

==Daily Rituals==
[[File:You're_Terminated.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A “rare” Iron Hands [[Terminator]] showing why metal is superior and why THE FLESH IS WEAK.]]
While each Clan Company has its own rituals and traditions, the following should be considered an outline of the Iron Hands daily routines:

*'''04:00 - Morning Prayer:''' The Iron Hands of the Clan Company are awoken from their power stations and reconfigure their Power Options for best performance, ready for the Iron Father to lead them in sermon which is completely told in Binary. 
*'''05:00 - Morning Firing Rites:''' The Iron Hands engage in [[Dakka|fire practice]]. The targets will typically include cutout or actual slaaneshi cultists. 
*'''07:00 - Battle Practice:''' The Iron Hands gather for practice in the cages. Often the Iron Hands end up repairing the damage they inflicted on the practice servitor themselves. On more than a few occasions Chapter serfs have been unable to tell the difference between a battle-brother and a [[servitor]]. 
*'''11:00 - Morning Maintenance Rituals:''' The Iron Hands polish and repair their wargear and augmetics. 
*'''13:00 - Midday Meal:''' A light meal is prepared by the Chapter serfs and occasionally accidentally given to a Servitor. During the meal, the Iron Hands repeatedly watch animations of their primarch dying in battle, fueling their rage. 
*'''13:30 - Tactical Indoctrination:''' The Clan-Commander gathers the Iron Hands for a tactical sermon on potential enemies, pointing out the vulnerable weak flesh to fire [[Bolter|bolters]] at. They also will take turns using an ancient combat simulator named "War Thunder" to keep their mechanized warfare skills sharp. 
*'''14:30 - Land-Behemoth Maintenance:''' The Clan Company assists in repairs to the [[Mobile Hiveships#Land-Behemoth|Land-Behemoth]] which serves as the Clan's mobile fortress-monastery. Mostly because by this point the vessel has taken on too much ash and soot from Medusa's volcanoes to continue moving. Raising questions about whether this means machines are weaker than flesh earns a battle-brother one hundred days of penitential duties. 
*'''16:00 - Evening Battle Practice:''' Having gotten the Land Engine working again, the Clan Company assembles for evening battle practice. Again, they will often repair any damage they inflict on the practice servitor. 
*'''17:00 - Evening Firing Rites:''' The Iron Hands will use any ranged weapon possible to destroy their targets, from predator cannons to storm Bolters. Interestingly, their targets will typically be painted [[Emperor's Children|pink]] and Urine [[Marines Malevolent|yellow]]. 
*'''18:00 - Evening Prayer:''' The Iron Hands gather for the Iron Father to preach to them. Areas frequently covered include the sinfulness of still having your own kidneys, why washing machines are superior to many humans and mortification of pathetic, weak flesh by poking yourself repeatedly in the eye. 
*'''20:00 - Evening Meal:''' A feast is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Overcooking or undercooking the food will result in the serf being banished to the Enginerarium decks (trust us, for people born on a half-frozen planet, nothing is worse than the heat of the Enginerarium decks of a Land-Behemoth). 
*'''21:00 - Evening Maintenance Rituals:''' The Iron Hands spend the rest of their day overseeing maintenance of their wargear and augmetics with adjustable Spanners, Watchmakers and ratchet Screwdrivers. Many magnetic heads are lost on the Marines Armour in very hard to reach places, Rare Earth Magnets are banned. 
*'''00:00 - Rest Period:''' The Iron Hands retire to their power stations for the evening where they configure themselves to low power mode

{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]] [[Category: Iron Hands]]

Ironwing

2021-04-20T08:13:29Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

[[File:Ironwing.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Ironwing.]]

The Ironwing was one of the six wings of the [[Dark Angels]] Hexagrammaton, they were dedicated to the use of overwhelming firepower on the battlefield.

==Overview==
Not a subtle wing, utilizing massed armor, artillery, and dreadnoughts. They excelled in siege breaking and the rapid onslaught of massed armour. Its Marshals were experts in the art of destruction of enemy war machines and heavy guns, often called upon to oversee the destruction of apocalyptic engines encountered by the First Legion in its early days.

Created from the '''Hosts of Stone''' and '''Iron''', the Ironwing also included a large amount of infantry in the form of heavy weapons units, Breachers, and Terminators. During the last years of the [[Great Crusade]] the Ironwing fielded the largest concentration of Terminators of all the Legions, including experimental patterns of armour unknown to the wider Space Marine Legions. These were most commonly used to storm enemy fortresses and gained fearsome reputations; many of those warriors would resume wearing the iconography of the Host of Stone and refer to themselves as "Stoneborn".

Interestingly, the Ironwing protocol was used as the template for the [[Iron Warriors]] and the [[Iron Hands]] when it came time to raise those Legions, despite the fact they hadn't been named yet.

The Lion claimed that the Ironwing was functionally just as good at sieging and fortifying as the [[Iron Warriors]] and [[Imperial Fists]], but stylistically unique. For example, when the Lion tasks Duriel with building a fortress, the reason the fortress is so strong is because of its design. Ironwing fortresses are intended to be a maze that cannot even be navigated by the majority of the Legion's command hierarchy. Each commander knows the layout of his assigned position and nothing more, preventing enemies from navigating the fortress and allies from giving up weaknesses. Only the Lion and the Voted-Lieutenant of the Ironwing knew the complete design of the fortress.

The Ironwing also contained a high concentration of the First Legions Techmarines, who were responsible for maintaining their unique weapons and tech. These marines enabled the Dark Angels to function independently, with the bare minimum number of Mechanicus cronies; of all the Wings save the [[Dreadwing]] the Ironwing was most hated by the Mechanicum due to their hoarding of forbidden technology.

The Ironwing took grievous losses in the early years of the [[Horus Heresy]] and by the end of the rebellion was a shadow of its former self. Perhaps because of their losses, the Ironwing has not survived in any meaningful sense into the 41st Millenium, although it seems their excess of Terminator suits and their technical expertise were distributed throughout all of the Dark Angels successor chapters and explains how they are able to maintain and manufacture more, even when new successors get raised.

==Notable Members==
* '''Duriel''' - Voted-Lieutenant of the Ironwing during the Great Crusade and the Rangdan Xenocides and a major character in the Lion's primarch novella. Known as a skilled master of siege warfare and was tasked by the Lion with constructing a stronghold that could resist the Khrave attackers. Ultimately died during the conflict when he personally nuked a titan that had been possessed by the Khrave.
* '''Venerable Titus''' - Voted-Lieutentant of the Ironwing. He was a dreadnought and hence could not "take the chair". He had passed through at least one chassis before finding himself in command of the Ironwing. Fun fact, Titus was old enough to have fought with the emperor during the [[Unification Wars]].

==Unique Units==
Despite the Ironwing being described as having the highest concentration of Terminators out of any Legion, and also being described as having Terminator Patterns that are unknown anywhere else, GW/FW missed a trick by not describing them or releasing any of them. Furthermore, the benefits of ''Scions of the Ironwing'' rule are generally lost on a squad of Terminators, since it only really helps when shaking vehicles, ''(the jury is out on whether it even works the way it is supposed to vs Extra Armour)'' and is pretty redundant on any squad of Terminators with Power Fists/Chainfists/Hammers.

The Ironwing are represented on the table top by an '''Excindio Class Battle-Automata''', an enslaved [[Men of Iron|Man of Iro...]] I mean: a completely ordinary Terran built combat robot.

While it does sound like it has the cool factor, there are issues with its cost and viability on the tabletop, not least the fact that if it gets wounded there is a 17% chance it will go on a rampage and start killing the nearest unit, including its allies. There is even an [[Derp|"upgrade"]] for Techmarines that allows them to try and kill the Excindio if this ever happens, which tells you about as much as you need to know about how the Ironwing were balanced...

Probably going to be a mod of the Castellax molds because [[Games Workshop]] are slackers.

[[Category:Dark Angels]]
{{Dark Angels}}

Ravenwing

2021-04-19T20:58:29Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

[[File:Ravenwing (1).jpg|150px|right|thumb|Ravenwing.]]
The '''Ravenwing''' is the name used by [[Dark Angels]] and their successor chapters for their Second Company. While the Second Companies of [[Codex Astartes]]-compliant chapters are "Battle Companies" nominally consisting of six [[Tactical Squad]]s, two [[Assault Squad]]s and two [[Devastator Squad]]s, instead the Ravenwing specializes in using bikes, [[Land Speeder]]s and [[Nephilim Jetfighter|aircraft]].

==History==
The Ravenwing protocol originated from the early Legion's rapid moving search and destroy formations. Hailing from the '''Host of Wind'''. These formations were revived and expanded upon as they offered a form of rapid strike warfare that the Knights of Caliban both understood and had perfected over many generations. They also act as the First Legion's infiltration, information gathering and espionage specialists. They also excelled in the use of mobile attacks, strike and fade tactics, skirmish warfare and orbital assault.

==Company Composition: i.e: ALL the Bikes==
[[File:Ravenwing Marine.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Speed kills.]]
Way back in the darkness of 3e, the Dark Angels' traditional battle companies could include "normal" bikes of their own just like every other chapter (as an alternative way of deploying assault marines) though it seemed that as time went on, every single biker and land speeder pilot in the chapter and all of its successors got promoted into the Ravenwing (or equivalent) and by 6e the Dark Angels lost count of how many members the second company actually has in it (assumed to be more than 100) but that's what you get when you steal a chapters worth of bikes and cram them into one company. From the newer fluff; the 7e codex states that Dark Angels [[A Game of Pretend|"claim"]] that the Ravenwing maintains codex company strength and lists ten squads of ten men, but fails to include the number of Black Knights and even goes as far as suggesting that the Dark Angels deliberately obfuscate the true number so the Adeptus Terra doesn't have a clue.

In terms of skill; Ravenwing compete with [[White Scars]] for the best bikers in the Imperium. Whilst the White Scars probably win out as an ''entire chapter'' dedicated to mounted combat rather than just one company and have better tabletop rules representing the average bike-riding individual. However, the Ravenwing's elite '''Black Knights''' are just superior in every way and have plasma-wielding bikes, rending pick-axes and rad or stasis grenade launchers ''(Grey Knights lost access to funky rad grenades, leaving the Dark Angels with sole access to these cool items)'' and their leader: [[Sammael]] has an endless supply of the "last" jetbike in the Imperium, kitted out with a plasma cannon.

Ravenwing also have access to pimped out Land Speeder variants not seen anywhere else: The '''Land Speeder Vengeance''' which has a Large blast plasma array and an overhyped reputation for glancing itself to death, and the ever useful '''Darkshroud''' which has bits of Caliban modded onto it which blanket friendlies with darkness (hence the name).

Ravenwing Attack (Bikes and a single Land Speeder as one formation) and Support Squads (up to five regular speeders rather than the traditional three being accompanied by a Darkshroud or Vengeance) may be seconded to a detachment of Dark Angels, or they may deploy as an army in their own right with their own detachment.

===Aircraft===
In traditional codex chapters, the pilots of space marine aircraft are techmarines (sometimes; it's complicated). Amongst the Unforgiven chapters however, all of the pilots of the Dark Angels [[Nephilim Jetfighter|aircraft]] are members of the second company instead. Unfortunately the supposed benefits of doing this are dubiously represented on the tabletop, since both of the Dark Angels aircraft are inferior to [[stormraven|codex aircraft]] and the distinction between Ravenwing fighter aces vs Techmarine pilots are only detailed in the '''Crusade of Fire''' supplement which many people may not own. Giving them inferior abilities and kamikaze maneuvers. Seriously! one of the Ravenwing ace pilot traits gives them a teleport homer, the Deathwing will most likely already be on the table before or at the same time as the pilot actually arrives due to Deathwing assault.

In the 7th edition update, all Ravenwing Aircraft and Land Speeder pilots (as well as all Bikers) are given the ability to reroll cover saves when jinking, so there is finally a bonus. The was already represented in the [[Deathwatch (RPG)]], where dedicated ravenwing pilots are at a slight advantage over nearly all other chapters pilots (including White Scars) with the ability to use evasive action more freely than others.

In 8th edition the status of Ravenwing pilots has been rectified, and the Ravenwing Aircraft are quite good. The pilots are equal or better than their equivalent techmarine buddies in other chapters, mostly due to the Jink ability (while rarely used, is an option). Whether the aircraft themselves are 'better' than Codex aircraft is debatable and depends on what you intend to achieve.

Also, this arrangement means that the Dark Angels can fill up to 100 aircraft with pilots, where other chapters are limited to the number of techmarines they have, and the Dark Angels can still repair a plane even if the pilot got blown to bits.

==Role & Induction==
[[File:Ravenwing Biker.jpg|thumb|left|300px|thumb|Surprise motherfucker!]]The Ravenwing, like the [[Deathwing]], is tasked with hunting the [[Fallen Angels]], though the Ravenwing know far less about their targets; as far as they know, the Fallen are simply heretics who happen to bear a grudge against the [[Dark Angels]], and enjoy spreading lies about the Chapter's history. When the Inner Circle expects to encounter lots of Fallen, they may deploy the Ravenwing and Deathwing together: the Ravenwing chase down the heretics, and then use their locator beacons to call down the Terminators.

They got fluffed up considerably in the aptly named "Ravenwing" novel by Gav Thorpe.
The members are inducted from the most curious space marines: in fact the protagonist of the story is simply transferred over for asking the seemingly innocent question of ''"how did the [[Lion El'Jonson|Lion]] die?"''. Therefore clearly his ultimate fate is not a matter for casual discussion within the chapter so most of the common variety "green" Dark Angels obviously just accept what they are told off hand and don't bother thinking about it too deeply.

In fact the Ravenwing is part of the mechanism that keeps the secret of the Fallen from within the chapter itself, racing ahead of the rest of the army and making certain that nobody gets exposed to uncomfortable truths that the Chaplains don't want to get out. Which is partially an unfortunate thing, as members of the Dark Angels will '''never''' be promoted to the higher ranks unless they can be trusted with the truth, which has far less to do with skill than it does with the personality of the marine in question. So some Dark Angels may be stuck in green armour no matter how competent they are as soldiers/warriors and might not quite realise why they aren't being "promoted" and get a bit resentful about how much freedom & glory that the Ravenwing/Deathwing are getting. But that's what the Inner Circle would prefer; the fewer who know the truth the better.

However, rather than being given an outright lie for an answer when they start asking questions, the members of the Ravenwing are slowly inducted through several circles within the company itself, gradually coming to the truth of the fallen as they prove themselves more and more worthy in the eyes of their superiors, either that or the Ravenwing is a dumping ground for initiates who need closer observation ''(and potential removal)'' as their work is hazardous even by Astartes standards. There have been [[Azrael|documented]] cases of promotion to the Deathwing without having any prior association with the Ravenwing at all. [[Mary Sue|Obviously]] having proven their trustworthiness without any shadow of doubt by other means...

Eventually, when members of the Ravenwing become promoted to the rank of '''Black Knight''' they become privy to the truth of the Fallen and what they represent, if perhaps not the entire truth of the betrayal of Luther. Whilst those from the chapter who have ''direct'' contact with the Fallen
will be segregated into the [[Deathwing]] instead, acknowledging that it is [[PROMOTIONS|not strictly a promotion to be proud of]]; rather it is now an [[Grimdark|additional burden they must bear.]]

==VS. White Scars==
Theres currently a great deal of debate on whether or not [[White Scars]] are better than the Ravenwing. The crunch mirrors their fluff match up pretty well.

Ravenwing are a smaller, more expensive and overall more niche force, whereas the White Scars are a far larger, individually cheaper force of uprated bikers. In terms of per-model costs and abilities White Scars are undoubtedly better, being able to spam far more bike models that are not only better rules wise but also cheaper. Thats only counting the basic bikers though, as the "Ravenwing" also encompasses the Chapter's land speeders and flyers, which benefit from the similar bonuses. Furthermore, Ravenwing's Black Knights are far better than any bike unit the Scars could field with the Vanilla codex and Sammael beats Khan in every way. DA can also take land speeder squadrons of 5 compared to the vanilla's 3. Further, Ravenwing also support the rest of their army better, such as being able to Scout forward and Outflank without the need for special characters, and carrying Teleport Homers to guide Terminator squads in. It really comes down to your preference.

...and then both forces were updated in 2015. with Ravenwing getting ''[[Cheese|rerollable Jink]]'' and overwatch at BS-2, base. This just gets cheesier as you add in the formation bonuses where Ravenwing boost each others ballistic skill or can overwatch for each other, then if taken as part of a Lion's Blade Strike Force they get upped to BS-normal with Land Speeders gaining ''[[Rape|damn]] [[Tau|Supporting Fire]]''. If taken as part of a Ravenwing Detachment instead they can turbo boost on turn one to get a "free" Jink on the enemy's next shooting phase, i.e. ''full Ballistic Skill on turn two!''. [[Deathwing]] Strike Forces also benefit from being deployed with Ravenwing by being able to choose to pass or fail reserve rolls when accompanied by certain formations (which also have the aforementioned Teleport Homers).

What did the White Scars get? With the release of the new Kauyon supplement, which was later rolled into the Angels of Death supplement with the other non-ultramarine chapters, the White Scars have just received a Decurion-style detachment all to themselves. Now White Scars in this formation are arguably the fastest and most mobile space marine chapter in the game, and can again field an all biker army again with all the lovely bonuses that come with these new formation-detachments. The formations in this detachment are also brutal as well, with tons of fluffy formations and abilities that you cannot find in the regular Gladius Strike Force (while still allowing use of the formations available in the Gladius). However it lacks the free-transports ability (which is unfortunate) it more than makes up for it with abilities that benefit a fast moving hit-and-run army.

In summary though, Ravenwing are really about bringing synergy with a combined force, rather than being the force itself. Where the Scars are really about the bikes and aren't focused on much else. If you want a larger force of exclusively bikes then Scars are better. If you want a smaller support force with great special units then Ravenwing are better.

==Notable Members==
*[[Sammael]] - Current Grand Master of the [[Dark Angels]] chapter Ravenwing formation.
*'''Aloceri''' - Voted-Lieutenant of the Ravenwing during the [[Horus Heresy]], a master of jetbike and speeder, as well as traditional horsemanship [[Jaghatai Khan|(one wonders how big the horse must be to accommodate an Astartes)]]

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:BikeSquad.jpg|GW knows how to make those bad boys look [[awesome]], which they did mostly by stealing the wings off a Polish Winged Hussar, but still.
File:Ravenwing.jpg|See that? You seein' that? Mere words cannot describe it's awesomeness! That's what happens when the Ravenwing work with the [[Deathwing]]
File:Ravenwing Co..jpg|[[Meme|THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARIVED!]]
File:Black library ravenwing by faroldjo-d5f4cwd.jpg|[[Grimdark|The <s>last</s> jetbike in the Imperium... ]]if it wasn't a different pattern from Heresy-era Imperial jetbikes and it didn't appear thousands of years ''after'' the Horus Heresy... and that it magically pops up whenever it's been destroyed... Or you know, it may be a Bullock pattern's variant. it looks awfully similar, just saying.
</gallery>
</center>

{{Dark Angels}}

[[Category:Dark Angels]]

Deathwing

2021-04-19T20:56:17Z

2001:1C03:4118:C200:0:0:0:EE:

[[File:Deathwing.1.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Deathwing.]]

Originally one of the six "Wings" of the '''Hexagrammaton''', descending from the '''Host of Crowns'''. A separate set of organisations within the [[Dark Angels|First Legion]] that was overlaid upon the rank and file. A "normal" Dark Angels squad could be made up of members of any of the six wings and those members could be senior or subservient to his squadmates in different ways. When battlefield conditions required it, the members of the wings could reorganise themselves into other more specialised units in order to bring their experience and training to best effect.

After the Second Founding, each Chapter descended from the Dark Angels Legion has a formation of Deathwing ''(often under different names)'' in place of the traditional First Company and membership is traditionally used as a requirement to further promotion. Unlike the First Companies of [[Codex Astartes]]-compliant Chapters, the Deathwing exclusively fights in bone-white [[Terminator]] armor, and never forms [[Power Armour|power-armored]] [[Veteran Squad]]s. The [[Dark Angels]] First Company commander is currently [[Belial]].

==Origin==
[[File:SHDeathwing.jpg|left|thumbnail|The Deathwing, back when they had that whole Native American schtick going on.]]

The Deathwing were originally the linebreaker troops and veterans, capable of shattering enemy formations and creating openings for other units to exploit. They were required to go toe to toe with the enemy and were most often elite units called upon to act as bodyguards for senior officers. As the [[Horus Heresy]] progressed, the Wing gained prominence as the officers the bodyguards were protecting died off, leaving the Deathwing veterans to get thrust into command roles.

The Deathwing were said to excel in special operations alongside other legion units, especially working in support of the larger Stormwing; getting right up close to the foe and disrupting the enemies plans and formations. They excelled at heavy assault and teleportation strikes, as they liked to get right into the face of the enemy and pummel them into the ground.

Like the Ravenwing, the Deathwing have a different colour scheme from the rest of the Dark Angels, wearing bone white Terminator armour. Originally, members of the Deathwing could only bear white armour if they had taken a blow intended for another and survived the encounter. The new colour scheme recognising their selfless devotion. Otherwise they retained the black and white colour scheme of the Dark Angels Legion. But after the break up of the legion into Chapters, all members of the Deathwing wear white.

According to apocryphal chapter legend, a group of Terminators under Captain Ezekiel (birth name Cloud Runner, no relation to the [[Ezekiel|Chief Librarian]]) returned to the Dark Angels ancient recruiting world of Plains World to find that the planet had been infiltrated by [[genestealer]]s. Rather than subject the planet to [[Exterminatus]], at the urging of Librarian Lucian (real name Two Heads Talking), the Terminators, all natives of Plains World, decided to fight off the genestealers and save the still uncorrupted native humans. They proceeded to undergo Plains World's death ritual, where warriors would paint themselves in ashes, but since they didn't have that, they repainted their armour white. The warriors succeeded in eradicating the genestealer's cult at the cost of everybody but Captain Ezekiel and when the Dark Angels later returned to reclaimed the suits of armor if not their bearers, they henceforth kept the suits of the First Company painted white in memory of their battle-brothers glorious final battle.

[[DERP|This story was written way back in early 2nd edition, and doesn't really gel with current 40k canon (especially the parts where 300-year-old veterans are worried about dying of old age or the concept of retirement). It is thus speculated in-story that this legend was ultimately made up by the Inner Circle as an easy justification for outsiders and neophytes, but also as a mean to prepare the Dark Angels for eventually learning about the Fallen]] (warriors long gone from their homeworld returning to find outside influences corrupting it bears more than a little similarity to [[Lion El'Jonson]] coming back from the [[Horus Heresy]] to find [[Luther]] had fallen to [[Chaos]]).

==Function and Strength==
[[File:Spacehulk_deathwing_final02.jpg‎|right|400px|thumbnail|If Stubbornness had a physical form, then it would look like the Deathwing.]]

They are part of the Dark Angels' Inner Circle, the secretive cabal that hunts the [[Fallen Angels]], members of the Dark Angels Legion who (allegedly) fell to [[Chaos]] during the [[Horus Heresy]] -- in fact, the ''traditional'' way to join the Inner Circle (and thus earn promotion to a [[Brother-Captain|Company Master]], [[Librarian]], or [[Chaplain|Interrogator-Chaplain]]) is to be inducted into the chapter's secrets during their time in the Deathwing. It should be mentioned that [[Azrael]] was inducted directly into the '''Deathwing Knights''' without passing through the "lower" ranks of Deathwing, meaning that there are exceptions.

The [[Ravenwing]] are the exception to the promotion rule, having their own Inner Circle in the Black Knights where their veterans are gathered, taught the truth and from which their new captain is chosen. It also explains how [[Sammael]] became captain without ever donning the old bone white blast suit.

The old 6e Dark Angels codex was sketchy about how many members make up the Deathwing, though heavily implied that it's more than just a "mere" 100. While the 7e codex played with this even more, on one page stating an exact number of squads that the Deathwing is reported to have while openly contradicting that number on other pages; [[Just as Planned|leaving just as much open to debate and assumption...]] The "official" list for 999.M41 denotes twenty regular squads and up to three squads of Deathwing Knights, plus the Command Squad. So if assumed to be at full strength could total around 235+ members, but the book also goes on to state that the true number is a carefully guarded secret and that: ''"as with Deathwing squads"'' the numbers of Deathwing's support assets are deliberately obfuscated to outsiders. By the way, this applies to the Ravenwing and Inner Circle too.

The 8th edition Codex plays with this ''even more'', stating that during the Siege of Dominus Prime, the Dark Angels and [[Angels of Vengeance]] both deployed their entire 1st companies, officially recording nearly two-hundred terminators as part of the action, but states that in truth their number was substantially higher than that.

With the fact that each of the Unforgiven chapters also appears to include a similar formation (though under different names) implies that the original Dark Angels Legion had a metric butt-ton of terminator armour lying around that no-one else knew about, which is ''"a luxury few chapters can match"'' and in fact other chapters like the [[Novamarines]] and [[Minotaurs]] are considered exceptional in that they can muster that many suits or Terminator armour for their veterans when the Unforgiven do it as a matter of course. I guess the Lion decided to run off with all the terminator armor because Leman [[Space Wolves#Other Assets|took all the Dreadnoughts and Ships.]] Or the Dark Angels were the only ones smart enough to ensure they were capable of producing their own everything. Certainly fits with their paranoia (or is it common sense in 40K?).

===Deathwing Knights===
[[File:Deathwing Knight.jpg|right|250px|thumbnail|Fucking Deathwing Knights...]]

You thought normal Deathwings were bad. Oh boy, you do NOT want to meet this badass bro-force in battle, ''ESPECIALLY'' if you are part of the [[Fallen Angels|Heretic Astartes]]

Deathwing Knights are fierce warriors with ridiculously over-the-top armor that it loops all the way back to [[Awesome]]. These are the elites of the elites who are part of the fighting organization of the Dark Angels and their successors' Deathwing units. It is said that in them lives on some semblance of [[Lion El'Jonson]] himself and they embody his silent strength. These veterans are the most trusted and experienced warriors of the Deathwing and make up the Company's own exclusive Inner Circle, learning the some of the hidden truths of the Unforgiven.

Deathwing Knights are garbed in long robes, hold huge storm shields, and are most commonly armed with [[Power weapon#Mace of Absolution|Maces of Absolution]]. The squads are themselves led by a Knight Master, who wields the Flail of the Unforgiven. Deathwing Knights are also frequently accompanied by [[Watchers in the Dark]].

Deathwing Knights are considered as the Dark Angels answer to close combat superiority. As most Dark Angel players should tell you, it is essential to have at least a couple of Deathwing Knights to cover the rear as the rest of your forces spray a unholy amount of [[Dakka]] and plasma from far away.

In previous editions, Deathwing Knights were the monsters of Dark Angels' CQC specialists. However by 8th edition, they got hit with a [[Nerf]] bat to some decree. On one hand, they lost a whole bunch of special rules including the Fortress of Shields ability. On the other hand, they are still extremely beefy and ''scary'' close combat monsters. Their Maces of Absolution are still terrifying, striking at S8 AP-2 and doing THREE damage each, basically losing out to Thunder Hammers by a point of armor penetration but with no drawbacks to accuracy. Plus they have an extra wound for being Terminators. [[Awesome|This means a squad of these guys can theoretically take out any high value target in one turn of combat.]]

Unfortunately, their number of attacks are rather lacking and since damage does not carry over from dead models, it makes these Knights exceptionally vulnerable to being [[Tarpit|Tarpitted]] by a horde of cheap GEQs. [[Derp|Which is odd,]] since in previous editions, these guys ate GEQs like a [[Mawloc]] chowing down on some [[Meatbread|squishy Guardsmen.]] As such, the Knights require far more assistance from other Dark Angels troops rather than being a one-squad army all by themselves.

In a nutshell, the Deathwing Knights are still the elite choice for the Dark Angels. They are just far more effective being synergised with other Dark Angels troops that deal with hordes like the [[Mortis Dreadnought]] for example.

While only okay in 8th edition 9th edition makes these guys ''Insane''. While their offensive potential isn't that much greater (all they got was an upgrade from 3+ Ws to 2+ Ws) They're (along with regular Deathwing terminators) ridiculously durable due to their rule that prevents anything from wounding on better than a 4+ (and an extra wound like all terminators this edition. That means they essentially treat everything from Assault cannons to Volcano lances as plain old boltguns. They additionally have access to a special ancient banner that can subtract 1 from damage. All these buffs combine with the 1+/4++/6+++ granted via their storm shields and a nearby apothecary make for a squad that's nigh impossible to kill.

=== Deathwing Companions ===
[[File:Fe7a1ead.jpg|250px|right|thumb|When you're too goddamned knightly for the [[Grey Knights]].]]
Not to be confused with the [[Emperor|Emprah's]] [[Companion|closet friends with 'benefits'.]] The Deathwing Companions were the finest warriors from the Dark Angels Legion's Deathwing during the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]].

These were warriors who were honour-bound to form the personal bodyguard of the Legion's officers. Each had taken an oath to lay down their lives before letting harm come to the one they were tasked to protect. Any among the Companions that took a death-blow meant for their charge and survived was granted the right to wear bone-white armour in recognition of their selfless devotion. Commanding officers were known as Oathbearers.

The Companions were equipped with Artificer ''Terminator'' Armour, not Artificer Armour or Terminator Armour, but [[AWESOME|''Artificer Terminator Armour'']], which goes to show how ''baller'' the Dark Angels were back in their heydays. They are armed as standard with either a [[Power weapon#Terranic Greatsword|Terranic Greatsword]] or Calibanite Warblade as well as Melta-Bombs, [[Power weapon#Powerfist|Power Fists]], [[Lightning Claws]], [[Thunder Hammer]]s, [[Grenade Harness|Grenade Harnesses]], [[Combi-weapons|Combi-Weapons]], and [[Plasma Pistol]]s. They also had access to the unique Cytheron pattern Aegis.

It is unknown if any of these companions still exist in the 41st/42nd Millennium.

Crunchwise, on the Horus Heresy Tabletop, these are your Elite squads armed with either Calibanite Warblades or Terranic Greatswords, they all have Artificer Armour and the option of Terminator Armour (their choice of pattern) or Jump Packs if their Praetor has a Jump pack. Non-terminators can take Cytheron Pattern Aegis shields granting them a 4+ invulnerable save against shooting or a 5+ in melee (this would be redundant on Terminators anyway). Their special rules make them quite possibly the best bodyguard squad ever: they don't take up a Force Org slot (but can only be taken with a Praetor/Primarch); they are all Chosen Warriors and can accept challenges where they reroll hits thanks to the Scions of the Deathwing rule; and they always pass Look Out Sir rolls and their character cannot be picked out by Precision Shots.

===Deathwing Venerable Dreadnought===
[[File:Deathwing_Venerable_Dreadnought.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The most LOYAL of Venerable Dreadnoughts.]]

The Dark Angels Venerable Dreadnought or more simply called the Deathwing Dreadnought since the majority of the Dark Angels' Venerable Dreadnoughts seem to comprise almost entirely from the Deathwing. As such, they are the most secretive and quiet of the Venerable Dreadnoughts which is one hell of a feat by itself.

As part of the Inner Circle, these Dreadnoughts only seem to partake in battlefields when there is a <s>certain intel report on [[Fallen Angels]] activity</s> FILTHY HERETICS FROM THE TRAITOROUS LEGIONS! Deathwing Dreadnoughts are thus, only found in the Deathwing Redemption Force formation. This formation comprises of units entirely from the Inner Circle such as the [[Brother-Captain|Company Master,]] [[Interrogator-Chaplain]] or [[Librarian]], two to five Deathwing Terminator Squads, one Deathwing Command Squad, one Deathwing Knight Squad and a single Deathwing Venerable Dreadnought.

As one can imagine, having a entire force of Inner Circle Dark Angels members ''including'' a squad of the infamous Deathwing Knights ''and'' a Deathwing Dreadnought all coming to get you, is not the most pleasant of idea to any members of <s>[[The Fallen]]</s> FILTHY HERETICAL RUINOUS POWERS!

On tabletop, these Deathwing Dreadnoughts are similar to a classic Dreadnought but with WS2+ and BS2+ and a new rule where it can ignore unsaved wounds on a 6+. Not too shabby. Apparently, [[Derp|something went wrong in the Codex]] where the Dark Angels Venerable Dreadnoughts got demoted and [[FAIL|they're only Deathwing and Inner Circle if we spend a CP.]] Sigh. But otherwise you get all this for only a slightly higher price tag. Oh, Yeah. Weapon options for the regular Dreadnought apply here too.

While these guys got the ax in 8th edition, they're (kinda) back in 9th edition with a 10 point upgrade that gives them the Deathwing keyword. while they don't gain much in stats from this upgrade, it does let them benefit from Deatwhing Strategems and aruas, and fit into Deatwhing detachments without losing detachment abilities.

==Tabletop==
Deathwing LOVED 8th edition. With regular terminators retaining all bonuses over vanilla terminators and now being able to Deep Strike them AND charge them is something that they've always been wanting. Deathwing Knights are still badass as they now have super powerful maces and a flail that spills its damage over. 5-wound Apothecaries, Ancients and Champions are now a thing so they can go around separately doing what they need to do. Ven Dreadnoughts are still here as well, so, Deathwing enjoy kicking lots of ass this edition. Also, they're some of the last Fearless units in the game, so, good on them!

Unfortunately, once the 'new and shiny' effect wore off of 8th edition Deathwing players (and lovers of termies in general) noticed that their dudes are dying just as fast if not even faster than before. 2+ armor is now affacted by AP-1 weapons which used to be AP5 and thus did jack shit to termies. They can still be drowned in saves just as in previous editions and anti-tank weapons now deal flat 2, D3 or D6 damage which is enough to down a 2-wound termie quite easily. All of this means that despite the double wounds, termies are rather fragile outside of cover or holding storm shields. Chapter Approved publications have helped a lot by reducing points though, so it's not all bad. Still, to kick ass with Deathwing you need to be a) fighting against weaker codices or b) play really well with Deathwing.

9th edition has brought Deatwhing back full force. They get a new Inner Circle ability that lets them shrug off everything from lascannons to plasma. They get an extra wound (up to 3 now), and a sweet new detachment and doctrine. Essentially, you can, and are actively incentivized to run full Deathwing detachments. Essentially you'll become a better version of custodes with troops that have 1+/4++ and 3 wounds and abilities that are arguably better than T5. They're crazy good.

==Notable Characters==
It's worth noting that in 40k, ALL members of the Inner Circle are also members of the Deathwing by default, so it's only really worth mentioning characters from the Great Crusade / Horus Heresy era who were explicitly members of the Deathwing.

*'''Holguin:''' Voted-Lieutenant of the Deathwing during the Horus Heresy, wields a 9 ft greatsword ''(was briefly in possession of the broken shards of the Lion Sword, though it was later reforged and used by the Lion to stab Leman Russ, cleansing the bad blood between them)''. Holguin vehemently disagreed with not going back to Terra when the Lion prosecuted his war against the traitors' homeworlds.
*'''Corswain:''' The Lion's Seneschal. A Caliban born Dark Angel he was despite his young age widely considered one of the finest blades among the Legiones Astartes, his name ranking among such legends such as Sigismund and Sevatar. Despite coming from such a taciturn and insular legion he had by the time of the Heresy gained a well-respected reputation among the other legions with even Guilliman referring to him as “beloved Corswain”.

==Trivia==
*The "-wing" suffix has come to be used as shorthand to refer to other all-Terminator armies, like Draigowing, where [[Kaldor Draigo]] allows a [[Grey Knights]] army to take Paladin (super-Terminator) squads as Troops, or Loganwing, where [[Logan Grimnar]] (of the [[Space Wolves]]) causes Wolf Guard (which may be Terminator-armored) to count as Troops. As of 7th edition, most codices let you run -wing armies through ways other than force chart position manipulation, but Pepperidge Farm Remembers. {{BLAM}} /tg/ remembers.

==[[Space Hulk: Deathwing]]==
Streum On Studio, the developers behind E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy (aka Tutorial Videos: The Game), developed a first-person shooter featuring Deathwing Terminators in a Space Hulk setting. The singleplayer campaign involves a Librarian (your character) and his two bros (a devastator and an apothecary) assisting in a Deathwing assault on a Space Hulk, with [[Belial]] handing out mission objectives. The enemies in the game are various forms of Genestealers, who make a credible threat and whose hybrids have some firepower. You go through ships of various stripes--Mechanicus, Imperial Guard, etc--and they have their differences and nice details. You also have a large armory--Do you want to use an assault cannon? Do that. Want to use Lightning Claws? Go for it. Power fist? Sure, watch those genestealer hybrids explode when you punch them.

Multiplayer campaign involves picking a class with specific abilities--tactical, assault, devastator, apothecary, Librarian, Interrogator Chaplain --and working with your squad to achieve goals and squish bugs.

If it's got a downside, controls and action can be clunky. The upside is, the level of detail and setting accuracy is stupidly high--you can read the words on purity scrolls and notes on the wall. And using a Force Sword or a Heavy Flamer to wipe out a genestealer wave is fun as hell.

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNT8LQnImiI| You can watch it here]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YROOgLD-wtU| And here is the second official trailer with extra-TROLLING pop-mariachi music, who needs bland gothic chants anyway? (Ah! The RAGE!) ]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfId5ukbwI| And here is the better edition, a little editing by some fans]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XghbKVJZNLY|And some FAGGOT with no inspiration decided to make a more GRIMDARK cookie cutter action movie trailer version.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MERJhTprNpw|'''ACTUAL''' gameplay trailer.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzsDLpNMZq0 The Gamescom teaser - we now have a release date! And no backflipping terminators!]

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
DeathwingCompanions.jpg|Deathwing Companions and the whole shebang.
image:DeathwingTerminators.png|Deathwing Terminators
image:DeathwingKnightsModel.png|Deathwing Knights
File:1st Company.jpg|Follow me you assholes! 'n pray to the [[Emprah]] We don't [[Space Hulk|run in to any fucki'n genestealers!]]
File:DeathwingKnights.jpg|The Models of the Deathwing Knights Are as [[awesome]] as you'd think.
File:Deathwing Squad.jpg|You pray to be on the good side of these guys when they're around.
File:Deathwing badassery.jpeg|Showing how much they would take on anything, <s>but seriously how big is that fucking genestealer!?</s> Scything talons, crusher claws, those things on its back... thats a carnifex.
</gallery>
</center>

{{Dark Angels}}

[[Category:Dark Angels]]