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Space Sharks

2020-11-01T05:57:54Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Sharks/Carcharodon Astra
|Heraldry = [[Image:Carcharodons Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Number =
|Battle Cry = "From the void we come - darkness there, and nothing more" Alternatively: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrB2_zqJQJU] sometimes [https://youtu.be/lV8i-pSVMaQ?t=37 this] can be heard being hummed by chaplains in high gothic and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hRHodkDGE "this"] can be heard as the warcry for the scout company
|Founding = Either 2nd (according to a GW article) or 23rd (according to FFG) Basically '''Unknown'''
|Successors of = [[Raven Guard]], but possibly chimeric ([[Night Lords]], [[ World Eaters]], etc. )
|Successor Chapters = None (thankfully)
|Chapter Master = [[Tyberos the Red Wake]]
|Primarch = [[Corvus Corax]], if chimeric then [[Konrad Curze|Curze]], [[Angron]], all of them...(definitely not jaws or his sons)
|Homeworld = Fleet Based
|Specialty = Think of the [[Night Lords]] and [[Raven Guard]] doctrine, but added with planetery and Chain Axe rape.
|Strength = 1000 (ish)
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Grey, with black pauldrons and white helmet faces (and the occasional blood splatter)
}}
[[File:B5oUxpr.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what [[furry|some]] heretics believe the Space Sharks look like]]
[[File:Sharks Bitch!.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what they [[Awesome|really look like]]. Yes, we assure you that they are good guys. Maybe.]]

{{topquote|He could sense the Company Master's fury, the rage he was battling to keep in check. The Blindness was beckoning to him, that precipice poised above a black sea of hatred and needless slaughter-sacrifice.|Chief Librarian Te Kahurangi's assessment of 3rd Captain Akia}}

{{topquote|Y'know, the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn’t seem to be livin’… until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’ they all come in and… they rip you to pieces.| Ned Quint, ''Jaws''}}

The Carcharodons (High Gothic ''Carcharodon Astra'', low Gothic ''Space Sharks'') are a Loyalist [[Space Marine]] Chapter of unknown heritage. Little is known about them, aside from the fact that they usually appear amidst campaigns quietly and unannounced, and respond to threats with surprising ruthlessness and brutality. They are noted to use much older (and very patched-up) Heresy-era armor and weaponry (in ''Red Tithe'' a squad carries around a [[volkite]] caliver, an ''extremely'' rare piece of tech in the 41st millennium, and their 3rd Company captain wears a suit of Mark III armour that bears an insignia indicating participation in the [[Unification Wars|Terran Pacification War]] (their "first battle honour"), and in battle seem to be utterly silent, even when visiting bloody murder on their foes (just like the Sons of Malice, coincidence?).

Very old records say they were sent out on a crusade outside the borders of Imperium-controlled space, for all intents and purposes, to preemptively kill anything that may or may not be a future threat to the Imperium of Man. And to our best knowledge, they were promptly forgotten about, because when they showed up again, no one knew who the hell they were or what side they were on.

The Carcharodons "officially" return to the Imperial consciousness during the [[Badab War]], where it's kinda hinted that they're [[Raven Guard]] mutants or descended from those other deranged genocidal space marines - the [[Night Lords]]. Siding with the Loyalists in the conflict, the Chapter descended in strength upon the worlds of the [[Mantis Warriors]], and it is in this phase of the campaign that the Chapter's reputation for bloody violence was made known. With the Mantis Warriors forced to surrender, the Chapter was then set upon [[Badab]] itself. There they helped conclusively secure victory for the Imperials -- by detonating the reactors of the primary hives on the planet. The resultant tectonic upheavals eventually destroyed Badab, and to this day the [[Star Phantoms]] pin the blame on the Sharks for the losses they experienced in the hurried evacuation that followed, but the war was officially won.

For its troubles, the Chapter returned to the Endymion Cluster one last time, ransacked the fortresses of the Mantis Warriors for materiel and their worlds for recruits, and quietly returned to the darkness of the galactic plane where it originally came from.

Their leader is [[Tyberos the Red Wake]], a badass motherfucker who couldn't decide if he liked lightning claws or chainfists better, so he made (or took from the Ashen Claws, as Outer Dark hints) ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'', a pair of Lightning Chainclaws... the ugly offspring of the two weapons after a couple glasses of Black Label and a night of extremely violent and questionable life choices, that allow him to one shot (swipe? stab?) Tyranid Carnifexes and Space Marine Dreadnoughts. This would usually make [[Marneus Calgar|anyone else]] a [[Mary Sue]], but this guy is so badass (and has the most [[awesome]] weapons in the setting), that he has earned immunity (so long as he doesn’t [[Roboute Guilliman|punch guys in space without wearing a helmet]]). Though very quiet in the way of formal encounters, Tyberos, when war ensues, becomes something that nightmares piss themselves to think about. During the Badab War, Tyberos wrote a name for himself and his chapter across the surface of the planet in the blood of the Mantis Warriors. Clad in a set of ancient [[Terminator]] Armour, Tyberos was always on the front lines, and ensured that the traitors paid for all the trouble they caused in blood and resources, going about this task in the grimly silent fashion known to be common to the Carcharodons.

==Organization and History==
[[File:Space Shark Mk5.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Space Shark in Mark 5 "Heresy" armour.]]
The Sharks are a fleet-based chapter. At some point in their history, Rangu (their word for the Emperor) or the Forgotten One (either the Primarch of the origin legion or the Founding Chapter Master) banished/self-exiled them from their home world and set them to hunt amongst the stars and slaughter the enemies of the Imperium with no quarter. To this day, no one knows why they were banished. To this end, they were granted the rite of Tithe; the Grey, all the physical material they needed for their duty, and the Red, a claim to prisoners, rebels, rejects, and other detritus for ship crew and potential recruits. They are explicitly forbidden from taking serving members of the Adeptus Terra (read - anyone from any other branch of the Imperium) in their tithing. The Grey Tithe is usually a semi-regular swap meet with allied members of the Mechanicum, bartering a few pieces of archeotech for freshly made materiel.

Another chapter wide trait is an intentional lack of ego and individuality. Every new Carcharodon recruit is stripped of their original name and given a new one derived from the chapter's history, along with a numerical designation. Each battle brother is only a part of the utility of the whole, leading Carcharodon command to eschew concepts like honour and pride-driven vengeance that drive other chapters to action. Only by following their ancient mandate of exile can they be worthy. They hope their actions (or more likely their descendants' actions) will redeem them for their crimes and allow them to return home, wherever that might originally be. Most chapter veterans don't believe this and channel their shame and remorse into meticulously violent murder. This also ties into their nomadic nature, as they can't risk wasting time and resources on badly thought out plans.

The Carcharodons follow the battle half of the [[Codex]] Astartes, but ignore everything else about force organisation. Cruising around in the void beyond the galaxy's edge can be nasty business, and years without resupply or any kind of logistical support means they must be both flexible and resourceful. Each company practices high self-reliance - salvaging, repairing and re-purposing stuff to make sure it lasts as long as possible. This is why they sport so much working Heresy-era gear and why stuff like vehicles and Terminator armour are often kept together using a variety of patterns and models. Because of this, [[Techmarine]]s are seldom seen on the battlefield. They also don't use reserve companies. Each company is thought to be a self-contained force, with their own scouts and veterans, ensuring they've got guys for every situation on hand. This has drawbacks of course, as they can't simply ask for reinforcements from a reserve company and must make do; for this reason Apothecaries are prized and kept off the front lines since every Marine makes a difference. At the same time it means that they've got all their companies actively doing stuff.

It seems likely that their scorched earth campaign during the Badab War was in fact more of a violent [[Looted|looting]] spree, restocking the Carcharodons' inventory after having spent so long outside known space. Filling up on ammo, weapons, armor, supplies, and [[Blood_Ravens|grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down, followed by the nails, and then everything that used to be nailed down]], before destroying anything else the enemy could possibly have had a use for. We do know that they claimed a bunch of recruits post-Badab, and they probably do this after all their big campaigns (maybe every time they come back into contact with the Imperium). The ''Red Tithe'' novel appears to confirm this theory; the Carcharodons' 3rd Company, having just come off a nasty brawl with some [[Tyranids]], rocked up to a remote Imperial prison planet with the intent of claiming all of its inmates as either serfs or potential recruits. A [[Night Lords]] warband had the same idea and arrived just before they did; the two groups proceeded to have a slight disagreement about who was going to empty out this wretched hive of scum and villainy. After several rounds of murder tag (and several thousand casualties later), the Carcharodons were victorious. They scooped up all the prisoners, stripped the place bare, and took off before Imperial reinforcements could arrive.

The Imperium at large is mostly unaware of their existence, and even the [[Inquisition]] seems to have only limited information about them. The Sharks' complete lack of glory-seeking behavior doesn't help with this; for example, a badly depleted company of Blood Angels were relieved by a Carcharodons attack force during the Seventh Black Crusade, during which Sharks managed to impress/concern Papa Sang's sons by being even more batshit-crazy murderous in assault than the Angels were. When the dust settled, the Blood Angels were given a fancy memorial (and got a whole spaceport named after them) but the Space Sharks went unremembered, save for a few crumbling statues in a forgotten corner with blank obsidian disks for faces. Isolated parts of the Mechanicus are aware of them, partly because of the Grey Tithe, but this is implied to be because they are hoarding the relics the Carcharodons retrieve for themselves, rather than returning them to the Mechanicum proper. Which is what the Mechanicus brass (pun!) would have done anyway so whatever.

A few members of the Inquisition have naturally raised concerns about this apparently undocumented force of Astartes just wandering around the galaxy with a predilection for wholesale slaughter and leaving very few survivors on either side when they're done. As an example from ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'', in order to force a Genestealer cult out into the open on a Shrine World, the Carcharodons gave the order to shut down every temple and pilgrimage site on the planet, knowing that this would cause mass civil unrest and thus force the cult to move ahead with their plans prematurely. [[Just as planned|It ended up totally working]] and disrupting the imminent Tyranid invasion, but it also turned out that there were so many cultists on the planet that the Carcharodons decided "fuck it, the Emperor can sort them out" and promptly started just killing everyone at hand with the help of some Ashen Claws renegade Marines they'd invited along for the ride. There was only one survivor left from the ensuing chaos afterwards: an inquisitorial aide who had also been the sole survivor of the events of ''Red Tithe'' and had now witnessed a) a Space Marine force of questionable loyalty slaughtering a planet's population wholesale, b) while being allied with genuinely renegade space marines, and c) had also seen a Carcharodons Librarian apparently being partly bonded to a daemon that had been haunting her too. Loyalist chapters have been exterminated for far less. Well, not really. The slaughter was justified and usually the Imperium would have used Exterminatus in that situation instead of killing everyone conventionally. Ironically this means they “saved” the planet.

==Gene-Seed Speculation==
[[File:Space Shark Tau.jpeg|right|thumb|''FFFFFUCKING WEEB!'']]
Initially, many fa/tg/uys speculated that the Carcharodons were of Raven Guard or Night Lord descent, or possibly a loyalist remnant. A minority also speculated that they might be World Eater remnants, though since that seems to be the old [[Minotaurs]]' schtick it's probably not true. Moreover, given that they are believed to have been founded by M32 and most of their wargear appears to be Heresy-era, they are most likely of the [[Second Founding]] or a product of the Heresy.

Most of the evidence for these theories is based on their military tactics and the few descriptions we had of marines outside of their armour. Socially, a lot of their imagery, language, and chapter culture has Polynesian influences, which don't map onto any existing legion's background and, owing to their recruiting practices, are not tied to a known world.

Their favoured tactics, relying heavily on stealth and surprise, would seem to fall in line with the Raven Guard's combat doctrines, at least on a strategic level, where they appear suddenly into whatever battlezone they are targeting without warning. However on a tactical level, they are comparatively unsubtle ; their preference for close-combat, total slaughter, and the strategic use of terror put them at odds with the "tacticool operator" style of the modern Raven Guard. Their method of war is closer to the pre-Heresy Night Lords, if substantially higher in body count, or the World Eaters, if they were a little more subtle. To give an example, they appeared above a shrine world and immediately took command despite the mass unrest such an action caused. They then forcibly shut down the shrines the world was famous for, thus provoking a miniature rebellion and coaxing the genestealer cult out of hiding. So whilst they have subtle overarching goals, they are merciless in their methods.

Physically, the Carcharodons displayed pale white skin and black eyes with black sclera. These were common traits of people living upon Lycaeus and Nostramo, the homeworlds of Corvus Corax and Konrad Curze, respectively. While the modern Raven Guard exhibit these traits as a result of mutations within their gene-seed, ''[[Imperial Armour#Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two|Imperial Armour]]'' states that the Space Shark's gene-seed is unusually pure, i.e. stable, and that these traits are unlikely to be the result of mutation. However, their Chief Librarian has toothy denticle growths on his elbows and around his neck which comes from a "degraded genetic inheritance" which essentially gives him sharkskin. This condition affects the entire chapter, but is much more common on older Carcharodons. They also suffer from something they call the "the Blindness", a condition that can make them lose all control during combat to the extent they may even attack their own.

This makes their appearance all the more unusual, as the Carcharodons are known to take recruits from the worlds they conquer, meaning there is no common genetic source that could explain their development other than through their gene-seed. Interestingly, the Chief Librarian also seems to make a note of the 3rd Captain's particular genetic heritage, as if it were somehow significant. It may very well be that the Carcharodons have more than one gene-seed source; Corvus Corax was noted for his snow-white skin, and Konrad Curze for his black eyes.

The Short Version: Official fluff presents their origins as being ambiguous, even to the point of mutual contradiction within the same story. Both Raven Guard-offshoots and Night Lords believe they are related, whilst they retain a lot of World Eater style equipment and tactics. Said Raven Guard offshoots even suggested that they could also be related to the World Eaters, although this might have been figurative. As with a lot of GW fluff, it's unlikely to get explained.

===Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark===
Red Tithe: (context: a Night Lord is observing the similarities between his legion and the Carcharadons. Also a daemon says that the Carcharadons are the lost brothers of the Night Lords)
"These Loyalists were different from the ones he’d outwitted in the past. None of his Claw leaders
reported having ever encountered them before. Even Shadraith was seemingly without answers,
practically abandoned by his pathetic daemonic patron. Their fighting style was not one Cull
recognised. '''If anything, it seemed eerily like the Night Lords’ own doctrines.'''"

...

"Cull was beginning to understand why his Claws had struggled. These loyalists were unlike any he’d
encountered before. '''They bore a curious resemblance to the Night Lords themselves''', but where the
VIII Legion delighted in the terror they caused, these grey killers seemed to be without any emotions
at all. "

...

(Context. A daemon is warning a Night Lord that the Carcharadons are hunting for them.)
"''Beneath the surface'', Bar’ghul said. The daemon’s voice was distant, as though carried on a faint
night wind. ''Others are coming to claim him. They must not succeed.''

‘Others?’

''The Hunters in the Void.'' '''Your lost brothers.'''

Outer Dark: (Context. the Carcharadons and the Ashen Claws are negotiating for the Carcharadons to hand over some Raven Guard geneseed they had collected. The Ashen Claws even outright call the Carcharadons a different breed from the Raven Guard and traitor-born.)

"‘Enough of this,’ barked one of the other Space Marines at the high table, rising
so fast that his chair clattered back. ‘This '''traitor-born scum''' has gone too far!’
‘Sit down, Brother Tanthius,’ snapped a voice."

...

(Context. A Carcharadon is offering to trade a stock of Raven Guard geneseed for wargear from the Ashen Claws)
"‘We bring more than just bolters and power armour,’ he said. ‘We bring the
genetic legacy of '''your ancestors'''. Not much, for we have little enough to spare as
it is. But it is pure.’

‘You have not contaminated it with '''your disgusting breed'''?’ Nev demanded."
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===TL;DR===
'''The first mention of the Carcharodons says that their gene-seed might be Raven Guard''', but doesn't expand on that. Given that this was during the time that the [[Blood Ravens]] were really in the popular vogue (as they still are to this very day), the idea that the Carcharodons are secretly Loyalist Traitors was pretty popular because their tactics are more like the Night Lords than anyone else's. GW has tried to walk it back a bit by saying the Raven Guard were basically the Night Lords only with Corax instead of Curze since then, but the debate still rages on because most of the documents supporting the Raven Guard hypothesis are speculative in-universe, and the Imperium would probably cover up a loyal Chapter being descended from Traitors if the Blood Ravens are anything to go by.

Horus Heresy III: Extermination suggests they're the descendants of Terran-born Raven Guard exiles led by Shade Lord Arkhas Fal, the grey armoured and white-faced pre-Corax XIXth Legion who had a reputation for going from stillness to extreme brutality and were basically taken under Horus Lupercal's wing in the centuries before their own Primarch was discovered. The exiles are referred to as a "nomad predation fleet" the same as the Carcharodons in the Badab War books and their cognomen during the early Great Crusade era was "Pale Nomads", a title given to them by the Luna Wolves and also the title of Te Kahurangi, the Chapter's current chief librarian, rumoured to be only three generations removed from the original exiles. The Reaper Prime (Captain) of the Third Battle Company wears armour bearing the skull and lightning bolts of the Terran Pacification War further highlighting the Chapter's links to the pre-Crusade Legions, and Tyberos' distinctive shark-like helmet is also featured in the book. In Horus Heresy 6 however they raid the Night Lords for supplies, which includes gene-seed (which would make them chimeric if they tried to use it) and in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novels ''Red Tithe'' and ''Outer Dark'' (the only books we have dedicated to our jawesome friends) it outright states that the Space Sharks are a chimeric combination of Raven Guard and Night Lord gene-seed, so the debate rages on.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

===Raven Guard===
Following the publication of ''Imperial Armour 10'', new evidence was published to support the Raven Guard theory by Games Workshop's licensors. Presumably the idea that every Traitor Legion has a secret Loyalist Successor was too much for them.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]]' ''[[Deathwatch]] RPG'' included rules for playing the Carcharodons ('''Honour the Chapter'''). Among the fluff, it is stated that Deathwatch Apothecaries have occasionally had the chance to analyze the gene-seed of Carcharodons slain in the service of the Deathwatch, and that they bear certain genetic markers unique to the Raven Guard. Of course, this being the Imperium of Man, you can never be certain what they're actually finding or if the records are accurate.

Forgeworld's ''[[Horus Heresy]] Book 3'' included a bunch of new information on the Raven Guard, and their predecessor [[First Founding|Legion]], the '''Pale Nomads'''. The Pale Nomads were noted for being the Emperor's preferred operators, often stealthing their way into enemy fortresses and armies to slay their leaders should they refuse surrender, and adopting multi-angle strike-and-fade tactics if the enemy continued to fight on. The latter is a favored tactic of the Carcharodons on the battlefield. The Pale Nomads were known for crushing any hint of resistance, which some have equated to the Space Sharks decimating entire star systems in order to sow terror. Their tactics evidenced a disdain for humans that the Raven Lord couldn't stomach, which is similar to the attitude adopted by the Space Sharks during the Badab War when they Exterminatus'd Badab and hundreds of Loyalist Space Marines along with it. The Pale Nomads were also slavers who would take children from defeated worlds to raise as Legionnaires, a practice that the Space Sharks have adopted. The Xeric tribesmen from which the Pale Nomads recruited also had a tradition of tattooing their bodies and painting their armor with tribal markings.

This could possibly explain why the Space Sharks have an abundance of [[Beakie|MkVI armor]] alongside their other Heresy-era tech, since the Raven Guard were the first to get their hands on them when they entered production during the Horus Heresy and that they're unusually stealthy with a variety of sensory systems to assist them in the void of space. Additionally, the Raven Guard were revealed to suffer from a gene-seed defect known as the ''Ash Blind'' or ''Sable Brand''. Similar to the ''Black Rage'', this defect caused otherwise normal Space Marines to charge into battle seeking only to destroy all trace of their foes, whether they lived or died. Those afflicted would develop eyes of solid black, and would neither speak nor reason until the condition passed. This sounds pretty similar to the Blindness that afflicts the Carcharodons.

Finally, it is stated that Corax would divest the Raven Guard of the surviving Terran-born Pale Nomads, whom he found too similar to the cruel lords he overthrew on [[Deliverance]]. One of the many branches of Raven Guard he sent off on isolated, never-ending crusades contained the [[Battle Barge]] '''Nicor''', (an old English word for a water sprite or monster) later to be found in the fleet of Space Sharks who ended the Badab War.

Tellingly, in '''Horus Heresy book 3''', Corax had no idea what happened to the fleet of Terran Exiles or to its master Arkhas Fal and made no effort to contact them in the build-up prior to the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. There is no evidence that these exiles were recalled after the massacre either, despite the 4000 men "officially" counting towards about half of the size of the remaining Legion, so they were considered an entirely separate force. They could simply have been designated a new Chapter following the end of the civil war.

According to the ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'' novel, the descendant Marines of the exiles, still calling themselves the Ashen Claws, have settled on the planet Atargatis Prime, beyond the Ghoul Stars region. Only a few people, including the Space Sharks, know of their existence. When times are desperate, the Space Sharks will trade war machines and gene-seed for the Ashen Claws' aspirants and neophytes. It also turns out that Tyberos's kickass lightning-claw-chainfists once belonged to the Ashen Claws, but the Carcharodons apparently [[Blood Ravens|acquired them in an underhanded fashion]], and the Claws are still pretty butthurt about it.

===Loyalist Traitors===
[[File:Space Shark Chainaxe.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|[[Rip and Tear]] at its finest.]]

Contradicting the Raven Guard theory are some logical inconsistencies, the issue of their battle tactics, and recently published material from '''Horus Heresy Book 6''' where it is revealed that the above-mentioned 4000 Terrans exiled by Corvax from the Raven Guard turned full renegade, calling themselves the '''Ashen Claws''' and abandoning the Imperium to build their own domain in the Segmentum Tempestus. With no contact from the Imperium, no support from the Emperor, and no reward for their loyalty, it seems likely that other Raven Guard exiles could have turned. Interestingly, this band of exiles raided the fortress worlds of the Night Lords for supplies before returning to the darkness beyond the Imperium.

The fact that the Carcharodons adhere to a known pattern of crusading behavior, the "Nomad-Predation Pattern," would seem to indicate that their "recruiting" practices aren't unique to any Legion or Chapter, but an established Space Marine tactic for dealing with long crusades beyond the supply lines of the Imperium. Rather than being a relic of Xeric nomads recruited by the Emperor, it seems likely that the Space Sharks are only unique in that they utilize this pattern exclusively, obeying the order to "ravage the foes of Mankind" in the darkness beyond the galactic plane. It also points to them either being formed prior to the implementation of the [[Codex Astartes]] or an utter disregard for it.

If the Space Sharks were founded during the Second Founding, you'd expect them to have roughly equal portions of their gear granted to them from their original Legion, and thus have higher proportions of more "modern" gear such as mark VI ''(Corvus)'' & VII ''(Aquila)'' plate, yet it is older mark V ''(Heresy)'' plate alongside Phobos pattern boltguns which predominantly fill the ranks. This points to the Space Sharks resupplying during the throes of the Heresy and their access to more recent patterns of wargear have come from salvaged or reclaimed equipment gathered over the years. Even their revered Terminator suits seem to be modified in unorthodox ways just to keep them operational. If they descend from any other Primarch, especially considering their tactics and manner of deployment, it's possible that they simply salvaged ''Nicor'' and other wargear from some distant and bloody battlefield.

The Space Sharks' preferred tactics are bloody and brutal, far more so than expected from any pre-Heresy Space Marine Legion besides the Night Lords and the World Eaters, although the information about the Raven Guard pre-Corax does resolve this inconsistency to an extent. During the Badab War they had no qualms about using the extermination of worlds and entire systems loyal to the [[Mantis Warriors]] to draw them into battle by the scale of their horror, and they would use the shattered survivors of their bloody attacks to demoralize and weaken rebel forces.

The history, as known, of the Space Sharks points to their being present during the Second Founding. Whether the Raven Guard exiles were recalled or returned on their own, or if they were a Loyalist remnant of the Night Lords, or more unlikely the World Eaters, and were given the chance to forge a new life and history, it seems odd that they would've been dispatched to such distant battlefields if they weren't regarded with mistrust by the High Lords of Terra. And assuming they possessed a reputation for such brutality that "ravage" is a more appropriate word for their orders than "harry" or "destroy," they should be descended from a Legion or portion of a Legion with a particularly bloody reputation.

Amusingly, the same ''Honour The Chapter'' splatbook that posits that the Carcharodons are descended from the Raven Guard also says they are of the 23rd Founding, descended from the Eagle Warriors. And the Chapter immediately preceding them in the splatbook, the [[Raptors|Reasonable Marines]], are definitively stated to be a Second Founding descendant of the Raven Guard. While the Raptors skin grows translucent and their hair grows darker as they age, the Space Sharks gain gray, shark-like skin and their hair turns whiter as they age. In addition, the Carcharodons by implication have a fully-functioning set of gene-seed organs, unlike the Raven Guard and Raptors who lack functioning Mucranoid and/or Betcher's Glands, as do other Raven Guard Successors.

====Night Lords====
The Carcharodons' deliverance of bloody and total judgment upon the followers of the rebellious Badab Chapters is in line with the [[Night Lords]]' pre-Curze and pre-Heresy role and attitudes towards those who failed the Emperor in loyalty or deed. Brutal purges of the disloyal would build into a reputation that became one of terror and bloody death under Konrad Curze, and his use of fear and fluid, almost wild maneuvers in battle are seen by some in the descriptions of the Space Shark's battles.

The Space Sharks' apparently fractious nature and their manner of giving personal titles of distinction and honor could be echoes of the Night Lords' practices as well. Many commanders and captains would have personal honorifics, like Zso Sahaal, who would either earn idiosyncratic titles or have lurid and unique ranks within the Legion's organizational structure. Likewise, ''The Red Wake'' could be an honorific specific to the Chapter Master or a personal one. As the Night Lords were grouped into semi-independent Companies with individual names, traditions, and markings, it's possible the Carcharodons could be one such Company that rejected the Heresy or returned to the Emperor's light. It would also explain why their forces never seem to gather in full Chapter strength; having passed down this tradition of building brotherhood solely within small, tribal bands like the gangs of Nostramo and fighting in semi-independent units as preferred by the Night Haunter, they would see little reason to fight together while other conflicts and enemies require their notice.

The Chapter's preference for close-combat is in stark contrast to the Raven Guard's preference for long-ranged and quick-moving strikes, especially as they prefer stealth and speed to the roar of assault jetpacks and jetbikes. However, these tactics were favored by the Night Lords and their Terror Squads. Indeed, the enforced silence and refusal to coordinate with Imperial forces of the Space Sharks is similar to the silence that Terror Squads would work with during the latter years of the Great Crusade. Rather than being a gene-seed curse, as with the Raven Guard, the Carcharodons simply isolate their vox nets and refuse to speak to anyone unless it is truly urgent and necessary.

As with the Space Sharks, the Night Lords were infamous for stealing the youth of conquered worlds for rapid implantation and hypno-indoctrination. While the former could also be a hallmark of the Nomad-Predation deployment pattern, the latter is a practice that seems to have been preferred by the Night Lords since it was the fastest and quickest way to make a new, battle-ready Space Marine in spite of the risks of instability and insanity it engendered.

Sharks are also ghostly, nocturnal predators, [[Konrad Curze|night haunters]] if you will, so there's that.

====World Eaters====
Yet another possibility maybe [[World Eaters]], since Space Sharks are silent and brooding outside of battle but go absolutely batshit crazy when ''in'' battle, no questions asked, and they seem to have a preference for chain-axes, which is somewhat unusual among Loyalist Space Marines. The love of chain weapons is carried over in a few other ways; one marine has what can only be described as a chain-club / staff - with an enormous flat chain blade running up one edge and handles on the opposite side at either end (potentially doubling as a very heavy duty eviscerator). Their predilection for close-combat and bloody melee, to an even greater degree than the Space Wolves, would be in keeping with the attitudes of the World Eaters and the War Hounds. Like the World Eaters, the Space Sharks have a preference for Drop Pod assaults, fast vehicles like Land Speeders, and Assault Terminators, and it can be argued that Tyberos's Terminator bodyguards, the ''Red Brethren'', are reminiscent of Angron's own Terminator posse, the ''Devourers''. Some of their ships also possess Ursus Claws, which only World Eaters used (but then again, it could just be a salvaged ship).

The main problem with this theory is the Butcher's Nails. We can assume one of two things when it comes to the Nails:
#The Space Sharks learned to control their urges outside of battle, lest they snap and massacre each other since they're out in the void of space for long periods of time doing nothing.
#Or they could have simply phased them out of their recruitment process after the Horus Heresy, seeing as it drove the other World Eaters fucking bonkers and was detrimental in the long run.

And whilst there were very few loyalist Night Lords (only two examples in the canon thus far), there are canonically loyalist World Eaters, both at Istvaan III and scattered around the Imperium during the Heresy.

====Chimeric Geneseed====
As another wrench is thrown in, in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novel ''Red Tithe'', it is heavily hinted that there are, in fact, ''multiple'' gene seeds utilized by the Space Sharks, primarily Raven Guard, Night Lords, and World Eaters. Given the typical canon conflicts that the Black Library is known for, this should be looked at with skepticism at least and as a half-assed excuse to explain why they have traits of all three Legions at best. Hopefully, this will be elaborated on in the future but for now, we can only theorize what this entails.

It is possible that the Carcharodons once consisted of Blackshields of Raven Guard and both loyalist Night Lords and World Eaters during the Horus Heresy, and after a time they were reformed into their own chapter and the traitor aspects of their origins were buried away. This ''could'' explain why their combat doctrine is an odd hybrid of their three supposed predecessors, any mutations they have are hard to connect to anyone Legion, why their equipment is so old and haphazard, and why they were sent out in the void of space due to their origins. Until we have hard evidence from Forge World itself on any such Blackshields, however, this is up in the air.

Another, simpler explanation is that, given the nature of the Space Sharks to scavenge whatever they find, it's possible that they harvested the gene-seed of the fallen marines they have killed. It's never explicitly said that their gene-seed is comprised of ''only'' the three suspected Legions; rather, it just happened to just be mostly the aforementioned three. For all we know they could trace back to every Legion through a small percentage of their gene-seed. Though admittedly, this train of thought makes their origin even harder to pinpoint as we don't have a clear-cut predecessor.

And it should be kept in mind that a good chunk of this information in the novel was divulged to one of the Space Sharks by a daemon. ''A daemon,'' for shit's sake. As we've seen with [[Magnus]], Chaos usually doesn't give accurate information.

This said, this is practically confirmed in HH6, where the Ashen Claws (Raven Guard) raid the Nostromo Sector to take their gear and Genesee. So if the Carcharodons are the Ashen Claws or a related group/successor, then they're Raven Guard and Night Lords. As of the novel ''Outer Dark,'' sequel to ''Red Tithe,'' it has been confirmed that the Carcharodons are related to the Ashen Claws and have a shaky pact with them. When the Carcharodons' Red Tithes can't refill their ranks fast enough, they are permitted to conscript young boys for augmentation from the fragmented domains that the Ashen Claws hid in beyond the Imperium's borders in exchange for war material and fresh Corax-derived gene-seed. It also seems their relationship is a shaky one prone to conflict. This suggests that the Carcharodons origins may lie with the Raven Guard exiles but the two groups split over whether to remain loyal to the Emperor or not. Regardless, both are willing to secretly come together against threats from beyond such as the [[Tyranids]]. When exchanging gene-seed and wargear for aspirants and fleet support, however, the Ashen Claws make a point of confirming whether the gene-seed being offered had been "contaminated with their disgusting breed", implying either widespread degeneration and mutation, or chimeric gene-seed among the Carcharodons.
Given how things were during the heresy, it's perfectly reasonable that there's some gene-seed from the Nostramo campaign in there, as well as some "loyalists" who joined up as Blackshields, seeing as they spent the Heresy as an independent force at the edges of the Imperium.
</div></div>

==Daily Rituals==
04:00 Wake Up - The Space Sharks emerge from their tanks. Before leaving, they make sure to feed their pet sharks.

05:00 Morning Prayer - The Space Sharks pra(e)y that the Emperor give them plenty of enemies to kill. The Chaplains do not speak during the service, merely gesture angrily. Any Marine who prays to be turned into a shark is forced to fight a real shark while bound.

06:00 Morning Firing Rites - The Space Sharks engage in ranged combat. The bolters are discarded within five minutes and the sharks charge into melee. Chapter serfs who often come to clean up afterwards are shocked to see chainswords, powerswords, knives, hammers, axes, and the occasional bite mark in the target dummies. Most of the dummies appear to be fish shaped. Blasting enemies point blank with a Bolt Pistol to also hit the guy behind him while gutting a third is heavily favored.

08:00 Morning Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice combat maneuvers. Most training focuses on underwater combat. Eating the enemy is a heavily encouraged tactic.

10:00 Morning Meal - The Space Sharks consume a light meal consisting of a barrel of live fish. The marine who eats the fastest gets to hold the chapter relic: a shark tooth.

11:00 Tactical Indoctrination - The Space Sharks learn what is friend and what is food. They must constantly be told that [[Ultramarines|bluberries]] are not food, but friends. They also learn to brutally eviscerate tanks and other armored structures. The viewing of Jaws is sometimes allowed for educational purposes.

13:00 Afternoon Meal - The Space Sharks collectively attack a Catachan Devil. The use of ranged weapons is forbidden, and the battle brother who rips the tail off gets to eat the first bite. Generally, it will be eaten shortly after death.

15:00 Afternoon Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice fighting against land enemies. Pulverizing [[Dark Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] with Power Fists and Hammers is heavily encouraged. Battle Brothers who get bored may target [[Orks]] and Cultists.

16:00 Afternoon Firing Rites - The Space Sharks fire upon cut outs of Shark Hunters and surfers. This time, the Chapter Serfs find few bolter casings and instead find bite marks.

17:00 Evening Meal - The Space Sharks consume a live Squiggoth. As per tradition, only the use of Rusty kitchen utensils, glass, rocks, and hammers is permitted. Stabbing at the eye is heavily encouraged.

19:00 Evening Preyer - The Space Sharks gather to worship and give thanks to the Void Father. Once a month, the Space Sharks celebrate communion by drinking fish oil and eating surfboards.

20:00 Free Time - The Space Sharks are permitted to engage in recreational activities. Playing with and feeding pet sharks in encouraged, whilst watching "Sharknado" and other comedies is another popular activity. If they've been especially good, marines may be allowed the privelge of feeding the megalodon that lives in the aquarium behind the Nicor's bridge with captured heretics and xenos.

23:00 Sleep Time - The Space Sharks are sent back to their tanks for rest.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
Carcharodons Chapter tactics gives all Space Marines models Fear, and allows Tactical marines to replace their bolters with a chainsword or keep it and buy an additional close combat weapon for 1pt each. In addition they gain Rage after destroying or forcing an infantry unit to fallback in close combat, however they must consolidate towards the nearest unit they can hurt (after all, [[Khorne|the rape train]] [[Meme|has no brakes!]]). This can make stuff like Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines, or even bikes surprisingly dangerous. Even a full batch of 10 footslogging Tacticals with extra CC weapons can be a pretty scary thing to face up against. Also, Dreadnoughts with Fear and Rage? Yes please.

Tyberos, their beloved Chapter Master, is quite the beast. He can destroy just about anything in the game in close combat. His Scent of Blood rule makes him and and any Carcharodon unit subject to Rage +1 strength for the rest of the game. He is [[Reasonable Marines|reasonable]] enough to wear a helmet and does not carry a banner and a shitton of flashy trinkets on his armour, unlike most other chapter masters, whose wargear just screams "Shoot me down, sniper!" Also, allows you to take a unit of lightning claw equipped assault terminators as troops; and he and any unit he joins have preferred enemy (infantry).

You can only ally with Imperial Forces and all of those are bumped down to Desperate Allies. All this means that, with them, you play Horus Heresy World Eaters with Fear and all the shiny new toys of the 40k arsenal of Space Marines.

They also have a couple of unique psyker powers:
:"From The Depths": The librarian casting this causes his targets to become intensely frightened, hallucinating about being in the deep dark depths of the ocean, immobilizing their opponent so that the Carcharodons can finish the target without a fight.
:"Rending Maw": The librarian summons a giant spirit shark that comes up out of the ground and bites the shit out of anyone unlucky enough to be there at the time.

===8th Edition===
[[File:Tyberos Red Wake Joseph Geddings.png|thumb|left|250px|"''There is no safety word.''" - Tyberos, the 'Red Wake']]
Currently, the only Carcharodons-specific thing in the game is Tyberos, in the Forge World Imperial Armour book. This go around he's got a standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} profile (which means he's been upgraded to the same 4++ the others have) with an extra Attack and one less Ballistic Skill (which doesn't matter as he has no guns). Wargear-wise, ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'' are now unique weapons - a chainfist and lightning claw equivalent respectively, except ''Hunger'' has +1 Damage and ''Slake'' has +1 Damage and -1AP. In special rules terms he's got the standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} ATSKNF, teleport deep strike and hit rerolls for {{W40kKeyword|CARCHARODONS}} within 6" (renamed '''Lord Reaper of the Void'''), but he also gives them +1 Strength thanks to his unique ability '''Savagery Beyond Reason''' (doesn't need activating any more, but it's now only a 6" bubble instead of the whole table). He's a great choice to lead a Deep Striking Assault Terminator squad, but at a little over 200 points you'll need to place him where he can do maximum damage to earn back that cost.

Codex Space Marines didn't bring any special joy for the Carcharodons. The White Scars Chapter Tactic is the GW-recommended "appropriate" one for them, even though they're (probably) Raven Guard successors (mostly because the Raven Guard tactic involves being sneaky rather than murdering the bloody fuck out of everything in melee). This gives them 2" of extra movement whenever they Advance, and allows them to charge the same turn they Fall Back. If you do choose to go with the Raven Guard one, enemies that are more than 12" away get -1 to hit you. Seeing as you'll probably be aiming to get right in their faces and stab them, this is probably a poor choice. Alternatively, The Imperium's Sword from the generic list is pretty good for a stabby warlord.

The Black Templars are your best bet if you want to maximize your melee potential. Rerolling charges is simple, but ''very'' effective, especially for Tyberos and his terminator posse when they warp in 9" from an enemy unit. Access to Crusader Squads is also nifty, especially if you want to emulate their previous rules of Tacticals having an extra CC weapon.

Here is an approximation of what 6th/7th edition rules would look like if they were updated to 8th, for the Carcharodons.
'''Warlord Trait: ''Carcharodons''. ''Reavers of the Outer Darkness'':''' Friendly CARCHARODON units within 6" gain: In the FIGHT phase, if this unit is fighting a unit that has lost any models, that unit being attacked reduces their Toughness by 1 for the remainder of the phase.

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Blood Hunger'':''' CARCHARODONS models gain +1A in a turn that the charged.

'''OR'''

An alternative Chapter Tactic for the Carcharodons is this...

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Terror from the Void'':''' Models in enemy units must subtract 1 from their Leadership characteristic for each unit with this trait that is within 6" of theirs (to a maximum of -3)

'''OR!''' '''OR!'''

'''With the release of the revised space marine codex, successor tactics let you pick 2 of 18 tactics to represent them on the table top.
Some of the most fluff related ones are

Fearsome Aspect: -1 Leadership to enemy units while they're within 3" of any of your units

Hungry for Battle: +1" to the advance or charge roll.

Tactical Withdrawal: Units with this tactic can charge after falling back.

Whirlwind of Rage: When making melee attacks for a unit that charged, was charged or made a Heroic Intervention,unmodified hit rolls of 6 score an additional hit.

'''OR!''' '''OR!''' '''OR!'''

Play them as successors to White Scars. You won't find better tools elsewhere to get into assault with and butcher things when you get there. Advance and/ Fallback and charge from their Chapter Trait; and +1 damage from Devastating Charge when the assault doctrine is active. Vastly superior to any of the successor Chapter Traits. As Whites Scars have relic, stratagems and Psychic powers that replicate "Hungry for Battle". While Tyberos’ +1S 6” aura, or +1S 6” aura from the relic banner is going to be far more effective than "Whirl Wind of Rage".

For and example of some of the combos you can do with Carcharodons as a White Scars successor. Take Tyberos using the "Hero of the chapter" stratagem to take the Imperium sword WL trait for +1 A and +1S, and re-rolling any or all charge dice. Now he's S6 boosting Hunger to: S12/AP-4/Dam3 with 7 attacks on the charge; and Slake S6/AP-3/Dam2/re-rolling failed wounds. You can do this as he doesn't have a fixed warlord trait and doesn't have to be your warlord. You can deep strike him along with a unit ten Assault Terminators with the Sgt using the "Khan's Champion" stratagem for Master-crafted Damage 5 Thunder Hammer. Now take a Terminator Librarian with the "Ride the Winds" psychic power for +2 to charge, and the "Plume of the Plains Runner" relic for a 6" aura granting +1 to advance and charge. Then if you need too. You activate the "Fierce Rivalries" stratagem to roll 3D6 to charge discarding the lowest; and you can command re-roll if needed for a 6" charge on 4D6.

For even more pain take a Jump Pack Captain as your actual Warlord with "Chogorian Storm" for +D3 attacks on the charge, then use "Tempered by Wisdom" to take "Master of Snares" as your second warlord trait for a 4+ roll to prevent an enemy unit falling back. You can now either arm him with an expensive Thunder Hammer, or go cheap with "Teeth of Terra" for +3 attacks for 8+D3 attacks at S5/AP-2/Damage 2. Personally, I'd take the Thunder Hammer and a Jump pack Lieutenant with the Teeth of Terra for re-rolling wounds. You can either outflank him or deep strike in with some double chainsword Vanguard and/or Assault Marines. All you jump pack infantry can advance and charge. Then next turn fallback, shoot and charge in again getting the bonus for shock assault again. Just brutal. Take a Jump Pack Chaplain with either "Benediction of Fury" relic for +2S/AP-2/ Damage 3; and or a Master-crafted Power Fist. For his litanies you can either take "Mantra of Strength" or "Canticle of Hate" for 6" aura of +2 to charge rolls, as well as +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. Canticle of Hate is the most useful if you start him on the board; since you can either move your jump pack units up with him or deep strike them into his aura.

For you troops you can take MSU Incursors or Intercessors with auto bolt rifles so they can they can move, advance, shoot and still charge. Then fallback, shoot and charge back in for that shock attack bonus. Taking a large unit or two of Scout Bikes is also very good in this build.

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

Space Sharks

2020-11-01T05:09:27Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Sharks/Carcharodon Astra
|Heraldry = [[Image:Carcharodons Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Number =
|Battle Cry = "From the void we come - darkness there, and nothing more" Alternatively: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrB2_zqJQJU] sometimes [https://youtu.be/lV8i-pSVMaQ?t=37 this] can be heard being hummed by chaplains in high gothic and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hRHodkDGE "this"] can be heard as the warcry for the scout company
|Founding = Either 2nd (according to a GW article) or 23rd (according to FFG) Basically '''Unknown'''
|Successors of = [[Raven Guard]], but possibly chimeric ([[Night Lords]], [[ World Eaters]], etc. )
|Successor Chapters = None (thankfully)
|Chapter Master = [[Tyberos the Red Wake]]
|Primarch = [[Corvus Corax]], if chimeric then [[Konrad Curze|Curze]], [[Angron]], all of them...(definitely not jaws or his sons)
|Homeworld = Fleet Based
|Specialty = Think of the [[Night Lords]] and [[Raven Guard]] doctrine, but added with planetery and Chain Axe rape.
|Strength = 1000 (ish)
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Grey, with black pauldrons and white helmet faces (and the occasional blood splatter)
}}
[[File:B5oUxpr.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what [[furry|some]] heretics believe the Space Sharks look like]]
[[File:Sharks Bitch!.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what they [[Awesome|really look like]]. Yes, we assure you that they are good guys. Maybe.]]

{{topquote|He could sense the Company Master's fury, the rage he was battling to keep in check. The Blindness was beckoning to him, that precipice poised above a black sea of hatred and needless slaughter-sacrifice.|Chief Librarian Te Kahurangi's assessment of 3rd Captain Akia}}

{{topquote|Y'know, the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn’t seem to be livin’… until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’ they all come in and… they rip you to pieces.| Ned Quint, ''Jaws''}}

The Carcharodons (High Gothic ''Carcharodon Astra'', low Gothic ''Space Sharks'') are a Loyalist [[Space Marine]] Chapter of unknown heritage. Little is known about them, aside from the fact that they usually appear amidst campaigns quietly and unannounced, and respond to threats with surprising ruthlessness and brutality. They are noted to use much older (and very patched-up) Heresy-era armor and weaponry (in ''Red Tithe'' a squad carries around a [[volkite]] caliver, an ''extremely'' rare piece of tech in the 41st millennium, and their 3rd Company captain wears a suit of Mark III armour that bears an insignia indicating participation in the [[Unification Wars|Terran Pacification War]] (their "first battle honour"), and in battle seem to be utterly silent, even when visiting bloody murder on their foes (just like the Sons of Malice, coincidence?).

Very old records say they were sent out on a crusade outside the borders of Imperium-controlled space, for all intents and purposes, to preemptively kill anything that may or may not be a future threat to the Imperium of Man. And to our best knowledge, they were promptly forgotten about, because when they showed up again, no one knew who the hell they were or what side they were on.

The Carcharodons "officially" return to the Imperial consciousness during the [[Badab War]], where it's kinda hinted that they're [[Raven Guard]] mutants or descended from those other deranged genocidal space marines - the [[Night Lords]]. Siding with the Loyalists in the conflict, the Chapter descended in strength upon the worlds of the [[Mantis Warriors]], and it is in this phase of the campaign that the Chapter's reputation for bloody violence was made known. With the Mantis Warriors forced to surrender, the Chapter was then set upon [[Badab]] itself. There they helped conclusively secure victory for the Imperials -- by detonating the reactors of the primary hives on the planet. The resultant tectonic upheavals eventually destroyed Badab, and to this day the [[Star Phantoms]] pin the blame on the Sharks for the losses they experienced in the hurried evacuation that followed, but the war was officially won.

For its troubles, the Chapter returned to the Endymion Cluster one last time, ransacked the fortresses of the Mantis Warriors for materiel and their worlds for recruits, and quietly returned to the darkness of the galactic plane where it originally came from.

Their leader is [[Tyberos the Red Wake]], a badass motherfucker who couldn't decide if he liked lightning claws or chainfists better, so he made (or took from the Ashen Claws, as Outer Dark hints) ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'', a pair of Lightning Chainclaws... the ugly offspring of the two weapons after a couple glasses of Black Label and a night of extremely violent and questionable life choices, that allow him to one shot (swipe? stab?) Tyranid Carnifexes and Space Marine Dreadnoughts. This would usually make [[Marneus Calgar|anyone else]] a [[Mary Sue]], but this guy is so badass (and has the most [[awesome]] weapons in the setting), that he has earned immunity (so long as he doesn’t [[Roboute Guilliman|punch guys in space without wearing a helmet]]). Though very quiet in the way of formal encounters, Tyberos, when war ensues, becomes something that nightmares piss themselves to think about. During the Badab War, Tyberos wrote a name for himself and his chapter across the surface of the planet in the blood of the Mantis Warriors. Clad in a set of ancient [[Terminator]] Armour, Tyberos was always on the front lines, and ensured that the traitors paid for all the trouble they caused in blood and resources, going about this task in the grimly silent fashion known to be common to the Carcharodons.

==Organization and History==
[[File:Space Shark Mk5.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Space Shark in Mark 5 "Heresy" armour.]]
The Sharks are a fleet-based chapter. At some point in their history, Rangu (their word for the Emperor) or the Forgotten One (either the Primarch of the origin legion or the Founding Chapter Master) banished/self-exiled them from their home world and set them to hunt amongst the stars and slaughter the enemies of the Imperium with no quarter. To this day, no one knows why they were banished. To this end, they were granted the rite of Tithe; the Grey, all the physical material they needed for their duty, and the Red, a claim to prisoners, rebels, rejects, and other detritus for ship crew and potential recruits. They are explicitly forbidden from taking serving members of the Adeptus Terra (read - anyone from any other branch of the Imperium) in their tithing. The Grey Tithe is usually a semi-regular swap meet with allied members of the Mechanicum, bartering a few pieces of archeotech for freshly made materiel.

Another chapter wide trait is an intentional lack of ego and individuality. Every new Carcharodon recruit is stripped of their original name and given a new one derived from the chapter's history, along with a numerical designation. Each battle brother is only a part of the utility of the whole, leading Carcharodon command to eschew concepts like honour and pride-driven vengeance that drive other chapters to action. Only by following their ancient mandate of exile can they be worthy. They hope their actions (or more likely their descendants' actions) will redeem them for their crimes and allow them to return home, wherever that might originally be. Most chapter veterans don't believe this and channel their shame and remorse into meticulously violent murder. This also ties into their nomadic nature, as they can't risk wasting time and resources on badly thought out plans.

The Carcharodons follow the battle half of the [[Codex]] Astartes, but ignore everything else about force organisation. Cruising around in the void beyond the galaxy's edge can be nasty business, and years without resupply or any kind of logistical support means they must be both flexible and resourceful. Each company practices high self-reliance - salvaging, repairing and re-purposing stuff to make sure it lasts as long as possible. This is why they sport so much working Heresy-era gear and why stuff like vehicles and Terminator armour are often kept together using a variety of patterns and models. Because of this, [[Techmarine]]s are seldom seen on the battlefield. They also don't use reserve companies. Each company is thought to be a self-contained force, with their own scouts and veterans, ensuring they've got guys for every situation on hand. This has drawbacks of course, as they can't simply ask for reinforcements from a reserve company and must make do; for this reason Apothecaries are prized and kept off the front lines since every Marine makes a difference. At the same time it means that they've got all their companies actively doing stuff.

It seems likely that their scorched earth campaign during the Badab War was in fact more of a violent [[Looted|looting]] spree, restocking the Carcharodons' inventory after having spent so long outside known space. Filling up on ammo, weapons, armor, supplies, and [[Blood_Ravens|grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down, followed by the nails, and then everything that used to be nailed down]], before destroying anything else the enemy could possibly have had a use for. We do know that they claimed a bunch of recruits post-Badab, and they probably do this after all their big campaigns (maybe every time they come back into contact with the Imperium). The ''Red Tithe'' novel appears to confirm this theory; the Carcharodons' 3rd Company, having just come off a nasty brawl with some [[Tyranids]], rocked up to a remote Imperial prison planet with the intent of claiming all of its inmates as either serfs or potential recruits. A [[Night Lords]] warband had the same idea and arrived just before they did; the two groups proceeded to have a slight disagreement about who was going to empty out this wretched hive of scum and villainy. After several rounds of murder tag (and several thousand casualties later), the Carcharodons were victorious. They scooped up all the prisoners, stripped the place bare, and took off before Imperial reinforcements could arrive.

The Imperium at large is mostly unaware of their existence, and even the [[Inquisition]] seems to have only limited information about them. The Sharks' complete lack of glory-seeking behavior doesn't help with this; for example, a badly depleted company of Blood Angels were relieved by a Carcharodons attack force during the Seventh Black Crusade, during which Sharks managed to impress/concern Papa Sang's sons by being even more batshit-crazy murderous in assault than the Angels were. When the dust settled, the Blood Angels were given a fancy memorial (and got a whole spaceport named after them) but the Space Sharks went unremembered, save for a few crumbling statues in a forgotten corner with blank obsidian disks for faces. Isolated parts of the Mechanicus are aware of them, partly because of the Grey Tithe, but this is implied to be because they are hoarding the relics the Carcharodons retrieve for themselves, rather than returning them to the Mechanicum proper. Which is what the Mechanicus brass (pun!) would have done anyway so whatever.

A few members of the Inquisition have naturally raised concerns about this apparently undocumented force of Astartes just wandering around the galaxy with a predilection for wholesale slaughter and leaving very few survivors on either side when they're done. As an example from ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'', in order to force a Genestealer cult out into the open on a Shrine World, the Carcharodons gave the order to shut down every temple and pilgrimage site on the planet, knowing that this would cause mass civil unrest and thus force the cult to move ahead with their plans prematurely. [[Just as planned|It ended up totally working]] and disrupting the imminent Tyranid invasion, but it also turned out that there were so many cultists on the planet that the Carcharodons decided "fuck it, the Emperor can sort them out" and promptly started just killing everyone at hand with the help of some Ashen Claws renegade Marines they'd invited along for the ride. There was only one survivor left from the ensuing chaos afterwards: an inquisitorial aide who had also been the sole survivor of the events of ''Red Tithe'' and had now witnessed a) a Space Marine force of questionable loyalty slaughtering a planet's population wholesale, b) while being allied with genuinely renegade space marines, and c) had also seen a Carcharodons Librarian apparently being partly bonded to a daemon that had been haunting her too. Loyalist chapters have been exterminated for far less. Well, not really. The slaughter was justified and usually the Imperium would have used Exterminatus in that situation instead of killing everyone conventionally. Ironically this means they “saved” the planet.

==Gene-Seed Speculation==
[[File:Space Shark Tau.jpeg|right|thumb|''FFFFFUCKING WEEB!'']]
Initially, many fa/tg/uys speculated that the Carcharodons were of Raven Guard or Night Lord descent, or possibly a loyalist remnant. A minority also speculated that they might be World Eater remnants, though since that seems to be the old [[Minotaurs]]' schtick it's probably not true. Moreover, given that they are believed to have been founded by M32 and most of their wargear appears to be Heresy-era, they are most likely of the [[Second Founding]] or a product of the Heresy.

Most of the evidence for these theories is based on their military tactics and the few descriptions we had of marines outside of their armour. Socially, a lot of their imagery, language, and chapter culture has Polynesian influences, which don't map onto any existing legion's background and, owing to their recruiting practices, are not tied to a known world.

Their favoured tactics, relying heavily on stealth and surprise, would seem to fall in line with the Raven Guard's combat doctrines, at least on a strategic level, where they appear suddenly into whatever battlezone they are targeting without warning. However on a tactical level, they are comparatively unsubtle ; their preference for close-combat, total slaughter, and the strategic use of terror put them at odds with the "tacticool operator" style of the modern Raven Guard. Their method of war is closer to the pre-Heresy Night Lords, if substantially higher in body count, or the World Eaters, if they were a little more subtle. To give an example, they appeared above a shrine world and immediately took command despite the mass unrest such an action caused. They then forcibly shut down the shrines the world was famous for, thus provoking a miniature rebellion and coaxing the genestealer cult out of hiding. So whilst they have subtle overarching goals, they are merciless in their methods.

Physically, the Carcharodons displayed pale white skin and black eyes with black sclera. These were common traits of people living upon Lycaeus and Nostramo, the homeworlds of Corvus Corax and Konrad Curze, respectively. While the modern Raven Guard exhibit these traits as a result of mutations within their gene-seed, ''[[Imperial Armour#Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two|Imperial Armour]]'' states that the Space Shark's gene-seed is unusually pure, i.e. stable, and that these traits are unlikely to be the result of mutation. However, their Chief Librarian has toothy denticle growths on his elbows and around his neck which comes from a "degraded genetic inheritance" which essentially gives him sharkskin. This condition affects the entire chapter, but is much more common on older Carcharodons. They also suffer from something they call the "the Blindness", a condition that can make them lose all control during combat to the extent they may even attack their own.

This makes their appearance all the more unusual, as the Carcharodons are known to take recruits from the worlds they conquer, meaning there is no common genetic source that could explain their development other than through their gene-seed. Interestingly, the Chief Librarian also seems to make a note of the 3rd Captain's particular genetic heritage, as if it were somehow significant. It may very well be that the Carcharodons have more than one gene-seed source; Corvus Corax was noted for his snow-white skin, and Konrad Curze for his black eyes.

The Short Version: Official fluff presents their origins as being ambiguous, even to the point of mutual contradiction within the same story. Both Raven Guard-offshoots and Night Lords believe they are related, whilst they retain a lot of World Eater style equipment and tactics. Said Raven Guard offshoots even suggested that they could also be related to the World Eaters, although this might have been figurative. As with a lot of GW fluff, it's unlikely to get explained.

===Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark===
Red Tithe: (context: a Night Lord is observing the similarities between his legion and the Carcharadons. Also a daemon says that the Carcharadons are the lost brothers of the Night Lords)
"These Loyalists were different from the ones he’d outwitted in the past. None of his Claw leaders
reported having ever encountered them before. Even Shadraith was seemingly without answers,
practically abandoned by his pathetic daemonic patron. Their fighting style was not one Cull
recognised. '''If anything, it seemed eerily like the Night Lords’ own doctrines.'''"

...

"Cull was beginning to understand why his Claws had struggled. These loyalists were unlike any he’d
encountered before. '''They bore a curious resemblance to the Night Lords themselves''', but where the
VIII Legion delighted in the terror they caused, these grey killers seemed to be without any emotions
at all. "

...

(Context. A daemon is warning a Night Lord that the Carcharadons are hunting for them.)
"''Beneath the surface'', Bar’ghul said. The daemon’s voice was distant, as though carried on a faint
night wind. ''Others are coming to claim him. They must not succeed.''
‘Others?’
''The Hunters in the Void.'' '''Your lost brothers.'''
‘That means nothing to me. Do not speak in your senseless riddles, daemon.’"

Outer Dark: (Context. the Carcharadons and the Ashen Claws are negotiating for the Carcharadons to hand over some Raven Guard geneseed they had collected. The Ashen Claws even outright call the Carcharadons a different breed from the Raven Guard and traitor-born.)

"‘Enough of this,’ barked one of the other Space Marines at the high table, rising
so fast that his chair clattered back. ‘This '''traitor-born scum''' has gone too far!’
‘Sit down, Brother Tanthius,’ snapped a voice."

...

(Context. A Carcharadon is offering to trade a stock of Raven Guard geneseed for wargear from the Ashen Claws)
"‘We bring more than just bolters and power armour,’ he said. ‘We bring the
genetic legacy of '''your ancestors'''. Not much, for we have little enough to spare as
it is. But it is pure.’
‘You have not contaminated it with '''your disgusting breed'''?’ Nev demanded."
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

===TL;DR===
'''The first mention of the Carcharodons says that their gene-seed might be Raven Guard''', but doesn't expand on that. Given that this was during the time that the [[Blood Ravens]] were really in the popular vogue (as they still are to this very day), the idea that the Carcharodons are secretly Loyalist Traitors was pretty popular because their tactics are more like the Night Lords than anyone else's. GW has tried to walk it back a bit by saying the Raven Guard were basically the Night Lords only with Corax instead of Curze since then, but the debate still rages on because most of the documents supporting the Raven Guard hypothesis are speculative in-universe, and the Imperium would probably cover up a loyal Chapter being descended from Traitors if the Blood Ravens are anything to go by.

Horus Heresy III: Extermination suggests they're the descendants of Terran-born Raven Guard exiles led by Shade Lord Arkhas Fal, the grey armoured and white-faced pre-Corax XIXth Legion who had a reputation for going from stillness to extreme brutality and were basically taken under Horus Lupercal's wing in the centuries before their own Primarch was discovered. The exiles are referred to as a "nomad predation fleet" the same as the Carcharodons in the Badab War books and their cognomen during the early Great Crusade era was "Pale Nomads", a title given to them by the Luna Wolves and also the title of Te Kahurangi, the Chapter's current chief librarian, rumoured to be only three generations removed from the original exiles. The Reaper Prime (Captain) of the Third Battle Company wears armour bearing the skull and lightning bolts of the Terran Pacification War further highlighting the Chapter's links to the pre-Crusade Legions, and Tyberos' distinctive shark-like helmet is also featured in the book. In Horus Heresy 6 however they raid the Night Lords for supplies, which includes gene-seed (which would make them chimeric if they tried to use it) and in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novels ''Red Tithe'' and ''Outer Dark'' (the only books we have dedicated to our jawesome friends) it outright states that the Space Sharks are a chimeric combination of Raven Guard and Night Lord gene-seed, so the debate rages on.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

===Raven Guard===
Following the publication of ''Imperial Armour 10'', new evidence was published to support the Raven Guard theory by Games Workshop's licensors. Presumably the idea that every Traitor Legion has a secret Loyalist Successor was too much for them.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]]' ''[[Deathwatch]] RPG'' included rules for playing the Carcharodons ('''Honour the Chapter'''). Among the fluff, it is stated that Deathwatch Apothecaries have occasionally had the chance to analyze the gene-seed of Carcharodons slain in the service of the Deathwatch, and that they bear certain genetic markers unique to the Raven Guard. Of course, this being the Imperium of Man, you can never be certain what they're actually finding or if the records are accurate.

Forgeworld's ''[[Horus Heresy]] Book 3'' included a bunch of new information on the Raven Guard, and their predecessor [[First Founding|Legion]], the '''Pale Nomads'''. The Pale Nomads were noted for being the Emperor's preferred operators, often stealthing their way into enemy fortresses and armies to slay their leaders should they refuse surrender, and adopting multi-angle strike-and-fade tactics if the enemy continued to fight on. The latter is a favored tactic of the Carcharodons on the battlefield. The Pale Nomads were known for crushing any hint of resistance, which some have equated to the Space Sharks decimating entire star systems in order to sow terror. Their tactics evidenced a disdain for humans that the Raven Lord couldn't stomach, which is similar to the attitude adopted by the Space Sharks during the Badab War when they Exterminatus'd Badab and hundreds of Loyalist Space Marines along with it. The Pale Nomads were also slavers who would take children from defeated worlds to raise as Legionnaires, a practice that the Space Sharks have adopted. The Xeric tribesmen from which the Pale Nomads recruited also had a tradition of tattooing their bodies and painting their armor with tribal markings.

This could possibly explain why the Space Sharks have an abundance of [[Beakie|MkVI armor]] alongside their other Heresy-era tech, since the Raven Guard were the first to get their hands on them when they entered production during the Horus Heresy and that they're unusually stealthy with a variety of sensory systems to assist them in the void of space. Additionally, the Raven Guard were revealed to suffer from a gene-seed defect known as the ''Ash Blind'' or ''Sable Brand''. Similar to the ''Black Rage'', this defect caused otherwise normal Space Marines to charge into battle seeking only to destroy all trace of their foes, whether they lived or died. Those afflicted would develop eyes of solid black, and would neither speak nor reason until the condition passed. This sounds pretty similar to the Blindness that afflicts the Carcharodons.

Finally, it is stated that Corax would divest the Raven Guard of the surviving Terran-born Pale Nomads, whom he found too similar to the cruel lords he overthrew on [[Deliverance]]. One of the many branches of Raven Guard he sent off on isolated, never-ending crusades contained the [[Battle Barge]] '''Nicor''', (an old English word for a water sprite or monster) later to be found in the fleet of Space Sharks who ended the Badab War.

Tellingly, in '''Horus Heresy book 3''', Corax had no idea what happened to the fleet of Terran Exiles or to its master Arkhas Fal and made no effort to contact them in the build-up prior to the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. There is no evidence that these exiles were recalled after the massacre either, despite the 4000 men "officially" counting towards about half of the size of the remaining Legion, so they were considered an entirely separate force. They could simply have been designated a new Chapter following the end of the civil war.

According to the ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'' novel, the descendant Marines of the exiles, still calling themselves the Ashen Claws, have settled on the planet Atargatis Prime, beyond the Ghoul Stars region. Only a few people, including the Space Sharks, know of their existence. When times are desperate, the Space Sharks will trade war machines and gene-seed for the Ashen Claws' aspirants and neophytes. It also turns out that Tyberos's kickass lightning-claw-chainfists once belonged to the Ashen Claws, but the Carcharodons apparently [[Blood Ravens|acquired them in an underhanded fashion]], and the Claws are still pretty butthurt about it.

===Loyalist Traitors===
[[File:Space Shark Chainaxe.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|[[Rip and Tear]] at its finest.]]

Contradicting the Raven Guard theory are some logical inconsistencies, the issue of their battle tactics, and recently published material from '''Horus Heresy Book 6''' where it is revealed that the above-mentioned 4000 Terrans exiled by Corvax from the Raven Guard turned full renegade, calling themselves the '''Ashen Claws''' and abandoning the Imperium to build their own domain in the Segmentum Tempestus. With no contact from the Imperium, no support from the Emperor, and no reward for their loyalty, it seems likely that other Raven Guard exiles could have turned. Interestingly, this band of exiles raided the fortress worlds of the Night Lords for supplies before returning to the darkness beyond the Imperium.

The fact that the Carcharodons adhere to a known pattern of crusading behavior, the "Nomad-Predation Pattern," would seem to indicate that their "recruiting" practices aren't unique to any Legion or Chapter, but an established Space Marine tactic for dealing with long crusades beyond the supply lines of the Imperium. Rather than being a relic of Xeric nomads recruited by the Emperor, it seems likely that the Space Sharks are only unique in that they utilize this pattern exclusively, obeying the order to "ravage the foes of Mankind" in the darkness beyond the galactic plane. It also points to them either being formed prior to the implementation of the [[Codex Astartes]] or an utter disregard for it.

If the Space Sharks were founded during the Second Founding, you'd expect them to have roughly equal portions of their gear granted to them from their original Legion, and thus have higher proportions of more "modern" gear such as mark VI ''(Corvus)'' & VII ''(Aquila)'' plate, yet it is older mark V ''(Heresy)'' plate alongside Phobos pattern boltguns which predominantly fill the ranks. This points to the Space Sharks resupplying during the throes of the Heresy and their access to more recent patterns of wargear have come from salvaged or reclaimed equipment gathered over the years. Even their revered Terminator suits seem to be modified in unorthodox ways just to keep them operational. If they descend from any other Primarch, especially considering their tactics and manner of deployment, it's possible that they simply salvaged ''Nicor'' and other wargear from some distant and bloody battlefield.

The Space Sharks' preferred tactics are bloody and brutal, far more so than expected from any pre-Heresy Space Marine Legion besides the Night Lords and the World Eaters, although the information about the Raven Guard pre-Corax does resolve this inconsistency to an extent. During the Badab War they had no qualms about using the extermination of worlds and entire systems loyal to the [[Mantis Warriors]] to draw them into battle by the scale of their horror, and they would use the shattered survivors of their bloody attacks to demoralize and weaken rebel forces.

The history, as known, of the Space Sharks points to their being present during the Second Founding. Whether the Raven Guard exiles were recalled or returned on their own, or if they were a Loyalist remnant of the Night Lords, or more unlikely the World Eaters, and were given the chance to forge a new life and history, it seems odd that they would've been dispatched to such distant battlefields if they weren't regarded with mistrust by the High Lords of Terra. And assuming they possessed a reputation for such brutality that "ravage" is a more appropriate word for their orders than "harry" or "destroy," they should be descended from a Legion or portion of a Legion with a particularly bloody reputation.

Amusingly, the same ''Honour The Chapter'' splatbook that posits that the Carcharodons are descended from the Raven Guard also says they are of the 23rd Founding, descended from the Eagle Warriors. And the Chapter immediately preceding them in the splatbook, the [[Raptors|Reasonable Marines]], are definitively stated to be a Second Founding descendant of the Raven Guard. While the Raptors skin grows translucent and their hair grows darker as they age, the Space Sharks gain gray, shark-like skin and their hair turns whiter as they age. In addition, the Carcharodons by implication have a fully-functioning set of gene-seed organs, unlike the Raven Guard and Raptors who lack functioning Mucranoid and/or Betcher's Glands, as do other Raven Guard Successors.

====Night Lords====
The Carcharodons' deliverance of bloody and total judgment upon the followers of the rebellious Badab Chapters is in line with the [[Night Lords]]' pre-Curze and pre-Heresy role and attitudes towards those who failed the Emperor in loyalty or deed. Brutal purges of the disloyal would build into a reputation that became one of terror and bloody death under Konrad Curze, and his use of fear and fluid, almost wild maneuvers in battle are seen by some in the descriptions of the Space Shark's battles.

The Space Sharks' apparently fractious nature and their manner of giving personal titles of distinction and honor could be echoes of the Night Lords' practices as well. Many commanders and captains would have personal honorifics, like Zso Sahaal, who would either earn idiosyncratic titles or have lurid and unique ranks within the Legion's organizational structure. Likewise, ''The Red Wake'' could be an honorific specific to the Chapter Master or a personal one. As the Night Lords were grouped into semi-independent Companies with individual names, traditions, and markings, it's possible the Carcharodons could be one such Company that rejected the Heresy or returned to the Emperor's light. It would also explain why their forces never seem to gather in full Chapter strength; having passed down this tradition of building brotherhood solely within small, tribal bands like the gangs of Nostramo and fighting in semi-independent units as preferred by the Night Haunter, they would see little reason to fight together while other conflicts and enemies require their notice.

The Chapter's preference for close-combat is in stark contrast to the Raven Guard's preference for long-ranged and quick-moving strikes, especially as they prefer stealth and speed to the roar of assault jetpacks and jetbikes. However, these tactics were favored by the Night Lords and their Terror Squads. Indeed, the enforced silence and refusal to coordinate with Imperial forces of the Space Sharks is similar to the silence that Terror Squads would work with during the latter years of the Great Crusade. Rather than being a gene-seed curse, as with the Raven Guard, the Carcharodons simply isolate their vox nets and refuse to speak to anyone unless it is truly urgent and necessary.

As with the Space Sharks, the Night Lords were infamous for stealing the youth of conquered worlds for rapid implantation and hypno-indoctrination. While the former could also be a hallmark of the Nomad-Predation deployment pattern, the latter is a practice that seems to have been preferred by the Night Lords since it was the fastest and quickest way to make a new, battle-ready Space Marine in spite of the risks of instability and insanity it engendered.

Sharks are also ghostly, nocturnal predators, [[Konrad Curze|night haunters]] if you will, so there's that.

====World Eaters====
Yet another possibility maybe [[World Eaters]], since Space Sharks are silent and brooding outside of battle but go absolutely batshit crazy when ''in'' battle, no questions asked, and they seem to have a preference for chain-axes, which is somewhat unusual among Loyalist Space Marines. The love of chain weapons is carried over in a few other ways; one marine has what can only be described as a chain-club / staff - with an enormous flat chain blade running up one edge and handles on the opposite side at either end (potentially doubling as a very heavy duty eviscerator). Their predilection for close-combat and bloody melee, to an even greater degree than the Space Wolves, would be in keeping with the attitudes of the World Eaters and the War Hounds. Like the World Eaters, the Space Sharks have a preference for Drop Pod assaults, fast vehicles like Land Speeders, and Assault Terminators, and it can be argued that Tyberos's Terminator bodyguards, the ''Red Brethren'', are reminiscent of Angron's own Terminator posse, the ''Devourers''. Some of their ships also possess Ursus Claws, which only World Eaters used (but then again, it could just be a salvaged ship).

The main problem with this theory is the Butcher's Nails. We can assume one of two things when it comes to the Nails:
#The Space Sharks learned to control their urges outside of battle, lest they snap and massacre each other since they're out in the void of space for long periods of time doing nothing.
#Or they could have simply phased them out of their recruitment process after the Horus Heresy, seeing as it drove the other World Eaters fucking bonkers and was detrimental in the long run.

And whilst there were very few loyalist Night Lords (only two examples in the canon thus far), there are canonically loyalist World Eaters, both at Istvaan III and scattered around the Imperium during the Heresy.

====Chimeric Geneseed====
As another wrench is thrown in, in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novel ''Red Tithe'', it is heavily hinted that there are, in fact, ''multiple'' gene seeds utilized by the Space Sharks, primarily Raven Guard, Night Lords, and World Eaters. Given the typical canon conflicts that the Black Library is known for, this should be looked at with skepticism at least and as a half-assed excuse to explain why they have traits of all three Legions at best. Hopefully, this will be elaborated on in the future but for now, we can only theorize what this entails.

It is possible that the Carcharodons once consisted of Blackshields of Raven Guard and both loyalist Night Lords and World Eaters during the Horus Heresy, and after a time they were reformed into their own chapter and the traitor aspects of their origins were buried away. This ''could'' explain why their combat doctrine is an odd hybrid of their three supposed predecessors, any mutations they have are hard to connect to anyone Legion, why their equipment is so old and haphazard, and why they were sent out in the void of space due to their origins. Until we have hard evidence from Forge World itself on any such Blackshields, however, this is up in the air.

Another, simpler explanation is that, given the nature of the Space Sharks to scavenge whatever they find, it's possible that they harvested the gene-seed of the fallen marines they have killed. It's never explicitly said that their gene-seed is comprised of ''only'' the three suspected Legions; rather, it just happened to just be mostly the aforementioned three. For all we know they could trace back to every Legion through a small percentage of their gene-seed. Though admittedly, this train of thought makes their origin even harder to pinpoint as we don't have a clear-cut predecessor.

And it should be kept in mind that a good chunk of this information in the novel was divulged to one of the Space Sharks by a daemon. ''A daemon,'' for shit's sake. As we've seen with [[Magnus]], Chaos usually doesn't give accurate information.

This said, this is practically confirmed in HH6, where the Ashen Claws (Raven Guard) raid the Nostromo Sector to take their gear and Genesee. So if the Carcharodons are the Ashen Claws or a related group/successor, then they're Raven Guard and Night Lords. As of the novel ''Outer Dark,'' sequel to ''Red Tithe,'' it has been confirmed that the Carcharodons are related to the Ashen Claws and have a shaky pact with them. When the Carcharodons' Red Tithes can't refill their ranks fast enough, they are permitted to conscript young boys for augmentation from the fragmented domains that the Ashen Claws hid in beyond the Imperium's borders in exchange for war material and fresh Corax-derived gene-seed. It also seems their relationship is a shaky one prone to conflict. This suggests that the Carcharodons origins may lie with the Raven Guard exiles but the two groups split over whether to remain loyal to the Emperor or not. Regardless, both are willing to secretly come together against threats from beyond such as the [[Tyranids]]. When exchanging gene-seed and wargear for aspirants and fleet support, however, the Ashen Claws make a point of confirming whether the gene-seed being offered had been "contaminated with their disgusting breed", implying either widespread degeneration and mutation, or chimeric gene-seed among the Carcharodons.
Given how things were during the heresy, it's perfectly reasonable that there's some gene-seed from the Nostramo campaign in there, as well as some "loyalists" who joined up as Blackshields, seeing as they spent the Heresy as an independent force at the edges of the Imperium.
</div></div>

==Daily Rituals==
04:00 Wake Up - The Space Sharks emerge from their tanks. Before leaving, they make sure to feed their pet sharks.

05:00 Morning Prayer - The Space Sharks pra(e)y that the Emperor give them plenty of enemies to kill. The Chaplains do not speak during the service, merely gesture angrily. Any Marine who prays to be turned into a shark is forced to fight a real shark while bound.

06:00 Morning Firing Rites - The Space Sharks engage in ranged combat. The bolters are discarded within five minutes and the sharks charge into melee. Chapter serfs who often come to clean up afterwards are shocked to see chainswords, powerswords, knives, hammers, axes, and the occasional bite mark in the target dummies. Most of the dummies appear to be fish shaped. Blasting enemies point blank with a Bolt Pistol to also hit the guy behind him while gutting a third is heavily favored.

08:00 Morning Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice combat maneuvers. Most training focuses on underwater combat. Eating the enemy is a heavily encouraged tactic.

10:00 Morning Meal - The Space Sharks consume a light meal consisting of a barrel of live fish. The marine who eats the fastest gets to hold the chapter relic: a shark tooth.

11:00 Tactical Indoctrination - The Space Sharks learn what is friend and what is food. They must constantly be told that [[Ultramarines|bluberries]] are not food, but friends. They also learn to brutally eviscerate tanks and other armored structures. The viewing of Jaws is sometimes allowed for educational purposes.

13:00 Afternoon Meal - The Space Sharks collectively attack a Catachan Devil. The use of ranged weapons is forbidden, and the battle brother who rips the tail off gets to eat the first bite. Generally, it will be eaten shortly after death.

15:00 Afternoon Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice fighting against land enemies. Pulverizing [[Dark Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] with Power Fists and Hammers is heavily encouraged. Battle Brothers who get bored may target [[Orks]] and Cultists.

16:00 Afternoon Firing Rites - The Space Sharks fire upon cut outs of Shark Hunters and surfers. This time, the Chapter Serfs find few bolter casings and instead find bite marks.

17:00 Evening Meal - The Space Sharks consume a live Squiggoth. As per tradition, only the use of Rusty kitchen utensils, glass, rocks, and hammers is permitted. Stabbing at the eye is heavily encouraged.

19:00 Evening Preyer - The Space Sharks gather to worship and give thanks to the Void Father. Once a month, the Space Sharks celebrate communion by drinking fish oil and eating surfboards.

20:00 Free Time - The Space Sharks are permitted to engage in recreational activities. Playing with and feeding pet sharks in encouraged, whilst watching "Sharknado" and other comedies is another popular activity. If they've been especially good, marines may be allowed the privelge of feeding the megalodon that lives in the aquarium behind the Nicor's bridge with captured heretics and xenos.

23:00 Sleep Time - The Space Sharks are sent back to their tanks for rest.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
Carcharodons Chapter tactics gives all Space Marines models Fear, and allows Tactical marines to replace their bolters with a chainsword or keep it and buy an additional close combat weapon for 1pt each. In addition they gain Rage after destroying or forcing an infantry unit to fallback in close combat, however they must consolidate towards the nearest unit they can hurt (after all, [[Khorne|the rape train]] [[Meme|has no brakes!]]). This can make stuff like Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines, or even bikes surprisingly dangerous. Even a full batch of 10 footslogging Tacticals with extra CC weapons can be a pretty scary thing to face up against. Also, Dreadnoughts with Fear and Rage? Yes please.

Tyberos, their beloved Chapter Master, is quite the beast. He can destroy just about anything in the game in close combat. His Scent of Blood rule makes him and and any Carcharodon unit subject to Rage +1 strength for the rest of the game. He is [[Reasonable Marines|reasonable]] enough to wear a helmet and does not carry a banner and a shitton of flashy trinkets on his armour, unlike most other chapter masters, whose wargear just screams "Shoot me down, sniper!" Also, allows you to take a unit of lightning claw equipped assault terminators as troops; and he and any unit he joins have preferred enemy (infantry).

You can only ally with Imperial Forces and all of those are bumped down to Desperate Allies. All this means that, with them, you play Horus Heresy World Eaters with Fear and all the shiny new toys of the 40k arsenal of Space Marines.

They also have a couple of unique psyker powers:
:"From The Depths": The librarian casting this causes his targets to become intensely frightened, hallucinating about being in the deep dark depths of the ocean, immobilizing their opponent so that the Carcharodons can finish the target without a fight.
:"Rending Maw": The librarian summons a giant spirit shark that comes up out of the ground and bites the shit out of anyone unlucky enough to be there at the time.

===8th Edition===
[[File:Tyberos Red Wake Joseph Geddings.png|thumb|left|250px|"''There is no safety word.''" - Tyberos, the 'Red Wake']]
Currently, the only Carcharodons-specific thing in the game is Tyberos, in the Forge World Imperial Armour book. This go around he's got a standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} profile (which means he's been upgraded to the same 4++ the others have) with an extra Attack and one less Ballistic Skill (which doesn't matter as he has no guns). Wargear-wise, ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'' are now unique weapons - a chainfist and lightning claw equivalent respectively, except ''Hunger'' has +1 Damage and ''Slake'' has +1 Damage and -1AP. In special rules terms he's got the standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} ATSKNF, teleport deep strike and hit rerolls for {{W40kKeyword|CARCHARODONS}} within 6" (renamed '''Lord Reaper of the Void'''), but he also gives them +1 Strength thanks to his unique ability '''Savagery Beyond Reason''' (doesn't need activating any more, but it's now only a 6" bubble instead of the whole table). He's a great choice to lead a Deep Striking Assault Terminator squad, but at a little over 200 points you'll need to place him where he can do maximum damage to earn back that cost.

Codex Space Marines didn't bring any special joy for the Carcharodons. The White Scars Chapter Tactic is the GW-recommended "appropriate" one for them, even though they're (probably) Raven Guard successors (mostly because the Raven Guard tactic involves being sneaky rather than murdering the bloody fuck out of everything in melee). This gives them 2" of extra movement whenever they Advance, and allows them to charge the same turn they Fall Back. If you do choose to go with the Raven Guard one, enemies that are more than 12" away get -1 to hit you. Seeing as you'll probably be aiming to get right in their faces and stab them, this is probably a poor choice. Alternatively, The Imperium's Sword from the generic list is pretty good for a stabby warlord.

The Black Templars are your best bet if you want to maximize your melee potential. Rerolling charges is simple, but ''very'' effective, especially for Tyberos and his terminator posse when they warp in 9" from an enemy unit. Access to Crusader Squads is also nifty, especially if you want to emulate their previous rules of Tacticals having an extra CC weapon.

Here is an approximation of what 6th/7th edition rules would look like if they were updated to 8th, for the Carcharodons.
'''Warlord Trait: ''Carcharodons''. ''Reavers of the Outer Darkness'':''' Friendly CARCHARODON units within 6" gain: In the FIGHT phase, if this unit is fighting a unit that has lost any models, that unit being attacked reduces their Toughness by 1 for the remainder of the phase.

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Blood Hunger'':''' CARCHARODONS models gain +1A in a turn that the charged.

'''OR'''

An alternative Chapter Tactic for the Carcharodons is this...

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Terror from the Void'':''' Models in enemy units must subtract 1 from their Leadership characteristic for each unit with this trait that is within 6" of theirs (to a maximum of -3)

'''OR!''' '''OR!'''

'''With the release of the revised space marine codex, successor tactics let you pick 2 of 18 tactics to represent them on the table top.
Some of the most fluff related ones are

Fearsome Aspect: -1 Leadership to enemy units while they're within 3" of any of your units

Hungry for Battle: +1" to the advance or charge roll.

Tactical Withdrawal: Units with this tactic can charge after falling back.

Whirlwind of Rage: When making melee attacks for a unit that charged, was charged or made a Heroic Intervention,unmodified hit rolls of 6 score an additional hit.

'''OR!''' '''OR!''' '''OR!'''

Play them as successors to White Scars. You won't find better tools elsewhere to get into assault with and butcher things when you get there. Advance and/ Fallback and charge from their Chapter Trait; and +1 damage from Devastating Charge when the assault doctrine is active. Vastly superior to any of the successor Chapter Traits. As Whites Scars have relic, stratagems and Psychic powers that replicate "Hungry for Battle". While Tyberos’ +1S 6” aura, or +1S 6” aura from the relic banner is going to be far more effective than "Whirl Wind of Rage".

For and example of some of the combos you can do with Carcharodons as a White Scars successor. Take Tyberos using the "Hero of the chapter" stratagem to take the Imperium sword WL trait for +1 A and +1S, and re-rolling any or all charge dice. Now he's S6 boosting Hunger to: S12/AP-4/Dam3 with 7 attacks on the charge; and Slake S6/AP-3/Dam2/re-rolling failed wounds. You can do this as he doesn't have a fixed warlord trait and doesn't have to be your warlord. You can deep strike him along with a unit ten Assault Terminators with the Sgt using the "Khan's Champion" stratagem for Master-crafted Damage 5 Thunder Hammer. Now take a Terminator Librarian with the "Ride the Winds" psychic power for +2 to charge, and the "Plume of the Plains Runner" relic for a 6" aura granting +1 to advance and charge. Then if you need too. You activate the "Fierce Rivalries" stratagem to roll 3D6 to charge discarding the lowest; and you can command re-roll if needed for a 6" charge on 4D6.

For even more pain take a Jump Pack Captain as your actual Warlord with "Chogorian Storm" for +D3 attacks on the charge, then use "Tempered by Wisdom" to take "Master of Snares" as your second warlord trait for a 4+ roll to prevent an enemy unit falling back. You can now either arm him with an expensive Thunder Hammer, or go cheap with "Teeth of Terra" for +3 attacks for 8+D3 attacks at S5/AP-2/Damage 2. Personally, I'd take the Thunder Hammer and a Jump pack Lieutenant with the Teeth of Terra for re-rolling wounds. You can either outflank him or deep strike in with some double chainsword Vanguard and/or Assault Marines. All you jump pack infantry can advance and charge. Then next turn fallback, shoot and charge in again getting the bonus for shock assault again. Just brutal. Take a Jump Pack Chaplain with either "Benediction of Fury" relic for +2S/AP-2/ Damage 3; and or a Master-crafted Power Fist. For his litanies you can either take "Mantra of Strength" or "Canticle of Hate" for 6" aura of +2 to charge rolls, as well as +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. Canticle of Hate is the most useful if you start him on the board; since you can either move your jump pack units up with him or deep strike them into his aura.

For you troops you can take MSU Incursors or Intercessors with auto bolt rifles so they can they can move, advance, shoot and still charge. Then fallback, shoot and charge back in for that shock attack bonus. Taking a large unit or two of Scout Bikes is also very good in this build.

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

Space Sharks

2020-11-01T05:06:44Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Sharks/Carcharodon Astra
|Heraldry = [[Image:Carcharodons Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Number =
|Battle Cry = "From the void we come - darkness there, and nothing more" Alternatively: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrB2_zqJQJU] sometimes [https://youtu.be/lV8i-pSVMaQ?t=37 this] can be heard being hummed by chaplains in high gothic and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hRHodkDGE "this"] can be heard as the warcry for the scout company
|Founding = Either 2nd (according to a GW article) or 23rd (according to FFG) Basically '''Unknown'''
|Successors of = [[Raven Guard]], but possibly chimeric ([[Night Lords]], [[ World Eaters]], etc. )
|Successor Chapters = None (thankfully)
|Chapter Master = [[Tyberos the Red Wake]]
|Primarch = [[Corvus Corax]], if chimeric then [[Konrad Curze|Curze]], [[Angron]], all of them...(definitely not jaws or his sons)
|Homeworld = Fleet Based
|Specialty = Think of the [[Night Lords]] and [[Raven Guard]] doctrine, but added with planetery and Chain Axe rape.
|Strength = 1000 (ish)
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Grey, with black pauldrons and white helmet faces (and the occasional blood splatter)
}}
[[File:B5oUxpr.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what [[furry|some]] heretics believe the Space Sharks look like]]
[[File:Sharks Bitch!.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what they [[Awesome|really look like]]. Yes, we assure you that they are good guys. Maybe.]]

{{topquote|He could sense the Company Master's fury, the rage he was battling to keep in check. The Blindness was beckoning to him, that precipice poised above a black sea of hatred and needless slaughter-sacrifice.|Chief Librarian Te Kahurangi's assessment of 3rd Captain Akia}}

{{topquote|Y'know, the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn’t seem to be livin’… until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’ they all come in and… they rip you to pieces.| Ned Quint, ''Jaws''}}

The Carcharodons (High Gothic ''Carcharodon Astra'', low Gothic ''Space Sharks'') are a Loyalist [[Space Marine]] Chapter of unknown heritage. Little is known about them, aside from the fact that they usually appear amidst campaigns quietly and unannounced, and respond to threats with surprising ruthlessness and brutality. They are noted to use much older (and very patched-up) Heresy-era armor and weaponry (in ''Red Tithe'' a squad carries around a [[volkite]] caliver, an ''extremely'' rare piece of tech in the 41st millennium, and their 3rd Company captain wears a suit of Mark III armour that bears an insignia indicating participation in the [[Unification Wars|Terran Pacification War]] (their "first battle honour"), and in battle seem to be utterly silent, even when visiting bloody murder on their foes (just like the Sons of Malice, coincidence?).

Very old records say they were sent out on a crusade outside the borders of Imperium-controlled space, for all intents and purposes, to preemptively kill anything that may or may not be a future threat to the Imperium of Man. And to our best knowledge, they were promptly forgotten about, because when they showed up again, no one knew who the hell they were or what side they were on.

The Carcharodons "officially" return to the Imperial consciousness during the [[Badab War]], where it's kinda hinted that they're [[Raven Guard]] mutants or descended from those other deranged genocidal space marines - the [[Night Lords]]. Siding with the Loyalists in the conflict, the Chapter descended in strength upon the worlds of the [[Mantis Warriors]], and it is in this phase of the campaign that the Chapter's reputation for bloody violence was made known. With the Mantis Warriors forced to surrender, the Chapter was then set upon [[Badab]] itself. There they helped conclusively secure victory for the Imperials -- by detonating the reactors of the primary hives on the planet. The resultant tectonic upheavals eventually destroyed Badab, and to this day the [[Star Phantoms]] pin the blame on the Sharks for the losses they experienced in the hurried evacuation that followed, but the war was officially won.

For its troubles, the Chapter returned to the Endymion Cluster one last time, ransacked the fortresses of the Mantis Warriors for materiel and their worlds for recruits, and quietly returned to the darkness of the galactic plane where it originally came from.

Their leader is [[Tyberos the Red Wake]], a badass motherfucker who couldn't decide if he liked lightning claws or chainfists better, so he made (or took from the Ashen Claws, as Outer Dark hints) ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'', a pair of Lightning Chainclaws... the ugly offspring of the two weapons after a couple glasses of Black Label and a night of extremely violent and questionable life choices, that allow him to one shot (swipe? stab?) Tyranid Carnifexes and Space Marine Dreadnoughts. This would usually make [[Marneus Calgar|anyone else]] a [[Mary Sue]], but this guy is so badass (and has the most [[awesome]] weapons in the setting), that he has earned immunity (so long as he doesn’t [[Roboute Guilliman|punch guys in space without wearing a helmet]]). Though very quiet in the way of formal encounters, Tyberos, when war ensues, becomes something that nightmares piss themselves to think about. During the Badab War, Tyberos wrote a name for himself and his chapter across the surface of the planet in the blood of the Mantis Warriors. Clad in a set of ancient [[Terminator]] Armour, Tyberos was always on the front lines, and ensured that the traitors paid for all the trouble they caused in blood and resources, going about this task in the grimly silent fashion known to be common to the Carcharodons.

==Organization and History==
[[File:Space Shark Mk5.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Space Shark in Mark 5 "Heresy" armour.]]
The Sharks are a fleet-based chapter. At some point in their history, Rangu (their word for the Emperor) or the Forgotten One (either the Primarch of the origin legion or the Founding Chapter Master) banished/self-exiled them from their home world and set them to hunt amongst the stars and slaughter the enemies of the Imperium with no quarter. To this day, no one knows why they were banished. To this end, they were granted the rite of Tithe; the Grey, all the physical material they needed for their duty, and the Red, a claim to prisoners, rebels, rejects, and other detritus for ship crew and potential recruits. They are explicitly forbidden from taking serving members of the Adeptus Terra (read - anyone from any other branch of the Imperium) in their tithing. The Grey Tithe is usually a semi-regular swap meet with allied members of the Mechanicum, bartering a few pieces of archeotech for freshly made materiel.

Another chapter wide trait is an intentional lack of ego and individuality. Every new Carcharodon recruit is stripped of their original name and given a new one derived from the chapter's history, along with a numerical designation. Each battle brother is only a part of the utility of the whole, leading Carcharodon command to eschew concepts like honour and pride-driven vengeance that drive other chapters to action. Only by following their ancient mandate of exile can they be worthy. They hope their actions (or more likely their descendants' actions) will redeem them for their crimes and allow them to return home, wherever that might originally be. Most chapter veterans don't believe this and channel their shame and remorse into meticulously violent murder. This also ties into their nomadic nature, as they can't risk wasting time and resources on badly thought out plans.

The Carcharodons follow the battle half of the [[Codex]] Astartes, but ignore everything else about force organisation. Cruising around in the void beyond the galaxy's edge can be nasty business, and years without resupply or any kind of logistical support means they must be both flexible and resourceful. Each company practices high self-reliance - salvaging, repairing and re-purposing stuff to make sure it lasts as long as possible. This is why they sport so much working Heresy-era gear and why stuff like vehicles and Terminator armour are often kept together using a variety of patterns and models. Because of this, [[Techmarine]]s are seldom seen on the battlefield. They also don't use reserve companies. Each company is thought to be a self-contained force, with their own scouts and veterans, ensuring they've got guys for every situation on hand. This has drawbacks of course, as they can't simply ask for reinforcements from a reserve company and must make do; for this reason Apothecaries are prized and kept off the front lines since every Marine makes a difference. At the same time it means that they've got all their companies actively doing stuff.

It seems likely that their scorched earth campaign during the Badab War was in fact more of a violent [[Looted|looting]] spree, restocking the Carcharodons' inventory after having spent so long outside known space. Filling up on ammo, weapons, armor, supplies, and [[Blood_Ravens|grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down, followed by the nails, and then everything that used to be nailed down]], before destroying anything else the enemy could possibly have had a use for. We do know that they claimed a bunch of recruits post-Badab, and they probably do this after all their big campaigns (maybe every time they come back into contact with the Imperium). The ''Red Tithe'' novel appears to confirm this theory; the Carcharodons' 3rd Company, having just come off a nasty brawl with some [[Tyranids]], rocked up to a remote Imperial prison planet with the intent of claiming all of its inmates as either serfs or potential recruits. A [[Night Lords]] warband had the same idea and arrived just before they did; the two groups proceeded to have a slight disagreement about who was going to empty out this wretched hive of scum and villainy. After several rounds of murder tag (and several thousand casualties later), the Carcharodons were victorious. They scooped up all the prisoners, stripped the place bare, and took off before Imperial reinforcements could arrive.

The Imperium at large is mostly unaware of their existence, and even the [[Inquisition]] seems to have only limited information about them. The Sharks' complete lack of glory-seeking behavior doesn't help with this; for example, a badly depleted company of Blood Angels were relieved by a Carcharodons attack force during the Seventh Black Crusade, during which Sharks managed to impress/concern Papa Sang's sons by being even more batshit-crazy murderous in assault than the Angels were. When the dust settled, the Blood Angels were given a fancy memorial (and got a whole spaceport named after them) but the Space Sharks went unremembered, save for a few crumbling statues in a forgotten corner with blank obsidian disks for faces. Isolated parts of the Mechanicus are aware of them, partly because of the Grey Tithe, but this is implied to be because they are hoarding the relics the Carcharodons retrieve for themselves, rather than returning them to the Mechanicum proper. Which is what the Mechanicus brass (pun!) would have done anyway so whatever.

A few members of the Inquisition have naturally raised concerns about this apparently undocumented force of Astartes just wandering around the galaxy with a predilection for wholesale slaughter and leaving very few survivors on either side when they're done. As an example from ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'', in order to force a Genestealer cult out into the open on a Shrine World, the Carcharodons gave the order to shut down every temple and pilgrimage site on the planet, knowing that this would cause mass civil unrest and thus force the cult to move ahead with their plans prematurely. [[Just as planned|It ended up totally working]] and disrupting the imminent Tyranid invasion, but it also turned out that there were so many cultists on the planet that the Carcharodons decided "fuck it, the Emperor can sort them out" and promptly started just killing everyone at hand with the help of some Ashen Claws renegade Marines they'd invited along for the ride. There was only one survivor left from the ensuing chaos afterwards: an inquisitorial aide who had also been the sole survivor of the events of ''Red Tithe'' and had now witnessed a) a Space Marine force of questionable loyalty slaughtering a planet's population wholesale, b) while being allied with genuinely renegade space marines, and c) had also seen a Carcharodons Librarian apparently being partly bonded to a daemon that had been haunting her too. Loyalist chapters have been exterminated for far less. Well, not really. The slaughter was justified and usually the Imperium would have used Exterminatus in that situation instead of killing everyone conventionally. Ironically this means they “saved” the planet.

==Gene-Seed Speculation==
[[File:Space Shark Tau.jpeg|right|thumb|''FFFFFUCKING WEEB!'']]
Initially, many fa/tg/uys speculated that the Carcharodons were of Raven Guard or Night Lord descent, or possibly a loyalist remnant. A minority also speculated that they might be World Eater remnants, though since that seems to be the old [[Minotaurs]]' schtick it's probably not true. Moreover, given that they are believed to have been founded by M32 and most of their wargear appears to be Heresy-era, they are most likely of the [[Second Founding]] or a product of the Heresy.

Most of the evidence for these theories is based on their military tactics and the few descriptions we had of marines outside of their armour. Socially, a lot of their imagery, language, and chapter culture has Polynesian influences, which don't map onto any existing legion's background and, owing to their recruiting practices, are not tied to a known world.

Their favoured tactics, relying heavily on stealth and surprise, would seem to fall in line with the Raven Guard's combat doctrines, at least on a strategic level, where they appear suddenly into whatever battlezone they are targeting without warning. However on a tactical level, they are comparatively unsubtle ; their preference for close-combat, total slaughter, and the strategic use of terror put them at odds with the "tacticool operator" style of the modern Raven Guard. Their method of war is closer to the pre-Heresy Night Lords, if substantially higher in body count, or the World Eaters, if they were a little more subtle. To give an example, they appeared above a shrine world and immediately took command despite the mass unrest such an action caused. They then forcibly shut down the shrines the world was famous for, thus provoking a miniature rebellion and coaxing the genestealer cult out of hiding. So whilst they have subtle overarching goals, they are merciless in their methods.

Physically, the Carcharodons displayed pale white skin and black eyes with black sclera. These were common traits of people living upon Lycaeus and Nostramo, the homeworlds of Corvus Corax and Konrad Curze, respectively. While the modern Raven Guard exhibit these traits as a result of mutations within their gene-seed, ''[[Imperial Armour#Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two|Imperial Armour]]'' states that the Space Shark's gene-seed is unusually pure, i.e. stable, and that these traits are unlikely to be the result of mutation. However, their Chief Librarian has toothy denticle growths on his elbows and around his neck which comes from a "degraded genetic inheritance" which essentially gives him sharkskin. This condition affects the entire chapter, but is much more common on older Carcharodons. They also suffer from something they call the "the Blindness", a condition that can make them lose all control during combat to the extent they may even attack their own.

This makes their appearance all the more unusual, as the Carcharodons are known to take recruits from the worlds they conquer, meaning there is no common genetic source that could explain their development other than through their gene-seed. Interestingly, the Chief Librarian also seems to make a note of the 3rd Captain's particular genetic heritage, as if it were somehow significant. It may very well be that the Carcharodons have more than one gene-seed source; Corvus Corax was noted for his snow-white skin, and Konrad Curze for his black eyes.

The Short Version: Official fluff presents their origins as being ambiguous, even to the point of mutual contradiction within the same story. Both Raven Guard-offshoots and Night Lords believe they are related, whilst they retain a lot of World Eater style equipment and tactics. Said Raven Guard offshoots even suggested that they could also be related to the World Eaters, although this might have been figurative. As with a lot of GW fluff, it's unlikely to get explained.

===Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark===
Red Tithe: (context: a Night Lord is observing the similarities between his legion and the Carcharadons. Also a daemon says that the Carcharadons are the lost brothers of the Night Lords)
"These Loyalists were different from the ones he’d outwitted in the past. None of his Claw leaders
reported having ever encountered them before. Even Shadraith was seemingly without answers,
practically abandoned by his pathetic daemonic patron. Their fighting style was not one Cull
recognised. '''If anything, it seemed eerily like the Night Lords’ own doctrines.'''"

...

"Cull was beginning to understand why his Claws had struggled. These loyalists were unlike any he’d
encountered before. '''They bore a curious resemblance to the Night Lords themselves''', but where the
VIII Legion delighted in the terror they caused, these grey killers seemed to be without any emotions
at all. "

...

"''Beneath the surface'', Bar’ghul said. The daemon’s voice was distant, as though carried on a faint
night wind. ''Others are coming to claim him. They must not succeed.''
‘Others?’
''The Hunters in the Void.'' '''Your lost brothers.'''
‘That means nothing to me. Do not speak in your senseless riddles, daemon.’"

Outer Dark: (context, the Carcharadons and the Ashen Claws are negotiating for the Carcharadons to hand over some Raven Guard geneseed they had collected. The Ashen Claws even outright call the Carcharadons a different breed from the Raven Guard and traitor-born.)

"‘Enough of this,’ barked one of the other Space Marines at the high table, rising
so fast that his chair clattered back. ‘This '''traitor-born scum''' has gone too far!’
‘Sit down, Brother Tanthius,’ snapped a voice."

...

(context. A Carcharadon is offering to trade a stock of Raven Guard geneseed for wargear from the Ashen Claws)
"‘We bring more than just bolters and power armour,’ he said. ‘We bring the
genetic legacy of '''your ancestors'''. Not much, for we have little enough to spare as
it is. But it is pure.’
‘You have not contaminated it with '''your disgusting breed'''?’ Nev demanded."
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

===TL;DR===
'''The first mention of the Carcharodons says that their gene-seed might be Raven Guard''', but doesn't expand on that. Given that this was during the time that the [[Blood Ravens]] were really in the popular vogue (as they still are to this very day), the idea that the Carcharodons are secretly Loyalist Traitors was pretty popular because their tactics are more like the Night Lords than anyone else's. GW has tried to walk it back a bit by saying the Raven Guard were basically the Night Lords only with Corax instead of Curze since then, but the debate still rages on because most of the documents supporting the Raven Guard hypothesis are speculative in-universe, and the Imperium would probably cover up a loyal Chapter being descended from Traitors if the Blood Ravens are anything to go by.

Horus Heresy III: Extermination suggests they're the descendants of Terran-born Raven Guard exiles led by Shade Lord Arkhas Fal, the grey armoured and white-faced pre-Corax XIXth Legion who had a reputation for going from stillness to extreme brutality and were basically taken under Horus Lupercal's wing in the centuries before their own Primarch was discovered. The exiles are referred to as a "nomad predation fleet" the same as the Carcharodons in the Badab War books and their cognomen during the early Great Crusade era was "Pale Nomads", a title given to them by the Luna Wolves and also the title of Te Kahurangi, the Chapter's current chief librarian, rumoured to be only three generations removed from the original exiles. The Reaper Prime (Captain) of the Third Battle Company wears armour bearing the skull and lightning bolts of the Terran Pacification War further highlighting the Chapter's links to the pre-Crusade Legions, and Tyberos' distinctive shark-like helmet is also featured in the book. In Horus Heresy 6 however they raid the Night Lords for supplies, which includes gene-seed (which would make them chimeric if they tried to use it) and in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novels ''Red Tithe'' and ''Outer Dark'' (the only books we have dedicated to our jawesome friends) it outright states that the Space Sharks are a chimeric combination of Raven Guard and Night Lord gene-seed, so the debate rages on.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

===Raven Guard===
Following the publication of ''Imperial Armour 10'', new evidence was published to support the Raven Guard theory by Games Workshop's licensors. Presumably the idea that every Traitor Legion has a secret Loyalist Successor was too much for them.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]]' ''[[Deathwatch]] RPG'' included rules for playing the Carcharodons ('''Honour the Chapter'''). Among the fluff, it is stated that Deathwatch Apothecaries have occasionally had the chance to analyze the gene-seed of Carcharodons slain in the service of the Deathwatch, and that they bear certain genetic markers unique to the Raven Guard. Of course, this being the Imperium of Man, you can never be certain what they're actually finding or if the records are accurate.

Forgeworld's ''[[Horus Heresy]] Book 3'' included a bunch of new information on the Raven Guard, and their predecessor [[First Founding|Legion]], the '''Pale Nomads'''. The Pale Nomads were noted for being the Emperor's preferred operators, often stealthing their way into enemy fortresses and armies to slay their leaders should they refuse surrender, and adopting multi-angle strike-and-fade tactics if the enemy continued to fight on. The latter is a favored tactic of the Carcharodons on the battlefield. The Pale Nomads were known for crushing any hint of resistance, which some have equated to the Space Sharks decimating entire star systems in order to sow terror. Their tactics evidenced a disdain for humans that the Raven Lord couldn't stomach, which is similar to the attitude adopted by the Space Sharks during the Badab War when they Exterminatus'd Badab and hundreds of Loyalist Space Marines along with it. The Pale Nomads were also slavers who would take children from defeated worlds to raise as Legionnaires, a practice that the Space Sharks have adopted. The Xeric tribesmen from which the Pale Nomads recruited also had a tradition of tattooing their bodies and painting their armor with tribal markings.

This could possibly explain why the Space Sharks have an abundance of [[Beakie|MkVI armor]] alongside their other Heresy-era tech, since the Raven Guard were the first to get their hands on them when they entered production during the Horus Heresy and that they're unusually stealthy with a variety of sensory systems to assist them in the void of space. Additionally, the Raven Guard were revealed to suffer from a gene-seed defect known as the ''Ash Blind'' or ''Sable Brand''. Similar to the ''Black Rage'', this defect caused otherwise normal Space Marines to charge into battle seeking only to destroy all trace of their foes, whether they lived or died. Those afflicted would develop eyes of solid black, and would neither speak nor reason until the condition passed. This sounds pretty similar to the Blindness that afflicts the Carcharodons.

Finally, it is stated that Corax would divest the Raven Guard of the surviving Terran-born Pale Nomads, whom he found too similar to the cruel lords he overthrew on [[Deliverance]]. One of the many branches of Raven Guard he sent off on isolated, never-ending crusades contained the [[Battle Barge]] '''Nicor''', (an old English word for a water sprite or monster) later to be found in the fleet of Space Sharks who ended the Badab War.

Tellingly, in '''Horus Heresy book 3''', Corax had no idea what happened to the fleet of Terran Exiles or to its master Arkhas Fal and made no effort to contact them in the build-up prior to the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. There is no evidence that these exiles were recalled after the massacre either, despite the 4000 men "officially" counting towards about half of the size of the remaining Legion, so they were considered an entirely separate force. They could simply have been designated a new Chapter following the end of the civil war.

According to the ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'' novel, the descendant Marines of the exiles, still calling themselves the Ashen Claws, have settled on the planet Atargatis Prime, beyond the Ghoul Stars region. Only a few people, including the Space Sharks, know of their existence. When times are desperate, the Space Sharks will trade war machines and gene-seed for the Ashen Claws' aspirants and neophytes. It also turns out that Tyberos's kickass lightning-claw-chainfists once belonged to the Ashen Claws, but the Carcharodons apparently [[Blood Ravens|acquired them in an underhanded fashion]], and the Claws are still pretty butthurt about it.

===Loyalist Traitors===
[[File:Space Shark Chainaxe.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|[[Rip and Tear]] at its finest.]]

Contradicting the Raven Guard theory are some logical inconsistencies, the issue of their battle tactics, and recently published material from '''Horus Heresy Book 6''' where it is revealed that the above-mentioned 4000 Terrans exiled by Corvax from the Raven Guard turned full renegade, calling themselves the '''Ashen Claws''' and abandoning the Imperium to build their own domain in the Segmentum Tempestus. With no contact from the Imperium, no support from the Emperor, and no reward for their loyalty, it seems likely that other Raven Guard exiles could have turned. Interestingly, this band of exiles raided the fortress worlds of the Night Lords for supplies before returning to the darkness beyond the Imperium.

The fact that the Carcharodons adhere to a known pattern of crusading behavior, the "Nomad-Predation Pattern," would seem to indicate that their "recruiting" practices aren't unique to any Legion or Chapter, but an established Space Marine tactic for dealing with long crusades beyond the supply lines of the Imperium. Rather than being a relic of Xeric nomads recruited by the Emperor, it seems likely that the Space Sharks are only unique in that they utilize this pattern exclusively, obeying the order to "ravage the foes of Mankind" in the darkness beyond the galactic plane. It also points to them either being formed prior to the implementation of the [[Codex Astartes]] or an utter disregard for it.

If the Space Sharks were founded during the Second Founding, you'd expect them to have roughly equal portions of their gear granted to them from their original Legion, and thus have higher proportions of more "modern" gear such as mark VI ''(Corvus)'' & VII ''(Aquila)'' plate, yet it is older mark V ''(Heresy)'' plate alongside Phobos pattern boltguns which predominantly fill the ranks. This points to the Space Sharks resupplying during the throes of the Heresy and their access to more recent patterns of wargear have come from salvaged or reclaimed equipment gathered over the years. Even their revered Terminator suits seem to be modified in unorthodox ways just to keep them operational. If they descend from any other Primarch, especially considering their tactics and manner of deployment, it's possible that they simply salvaged ''Nicor'' and other wargear from some distant and bloody battlefield.

The Space Sharks' preferred tactics are bloody and brutal, far more so than expected from any pre-Heresy Space Marine Legion besides the Night Lords and the World Eaters, although the information about the Raven Guard pre-Corax does resolve this inconsistency to an extent. During the Badab War they had no qualms about using the extermination of worlds and entire systems loyal to the [[Mantis Warriors]] to draw them into battle by the scale of their horror, and they would use the shattered survivors of their bloody attacks to demoralize and weaken rebel forces.

The history, as known, of the Space Sharks points to their being present during the Second Founding. Whether the Raven Guard exiles were recalled or returned on their own, or if they were a Loyalist remnant of the Night Lords, or more unlikely the World Eaters, and were given the chance to forge a new life and history, it seems odd that they would've been dispatched to such distant battlefields if they weren't regarded with mistrust by the High Lords of Terra. And assuming they possessed a reputation for such brutality that "ravage" is a more appropriate word for their orders than "harry" or "destroy," they should be descended from a Legion or portion of a Legion with a particularly bloody reputation.

Amusingly, the same ''Honour The Chapter'' splatbook that posits that the Carcharodons are descended from the Raven Guard also says they are of the 23rd Founding, descended from the Eagle Warriors. And the Chapter immediately preceding them in the splatbook, the [[Raptors|Reasonable Marines]], are definitively stated to be a Second Founding descendant of the Raven Guard. While the Raptors skin grows translucent and their hair grows darker as they age, the Space Sharks gain gray, shark-like skin and their hair turns whiter as they age. In addition, the Carcharodons by implication have a fully-functioning set of gene-seed organs, unlike the Raven Guard and Raptors who lack functioning Mucranoid and/or Betcher's Glands, as do other Raven Guard Successors.

====Night Lords====
The Carcharodons' deliverance of bloody and total judgment upon the followers of the rebellious Badab Chapters is in line with the [[Night Lords]]' pre-Curze and pre-Heresy role and attitudes towards those who failed the Emperor in loyalty or deed. Brutal purges of the disloyal would build into a reputation that became one of terror and bloody death under Konrad Curze, and his use of fear and fluid, almost wild maneuvers in battle are seen by some in the descriptions of the Space Shark's battles.

The Space Sharks' apparently fractious nature and their manner of giving personal titles of distinction and honor could be echoes of the Night Lords' practices as well. Many commanders and captains would have personal honorifics, like Zso Sahaal, who would either earn idiosyncratic titles or have lurid and unique ranks within the Legion's organizational structure. Likewise, ''The Red Wake'' could be an honorific specific to the Chapter Master or a personal one. As the Night Lords were grouped into semi-independent Companies with individual names, traditions, and markings, it's possible the Carcharodons could be one such Company that rejected the Heresy or returned to the Emperor's light. It would also explain why their forces never seem to gather in full Chapter strength; having passed down this tradition of building brotherhood solely within small, tribal bands like the gangs of Nostramo and fighting in semi-independent units as preferred by the Night Haunter, they would see little reason to fight together while other conflicts and enemies require their notice.

The Chapter's preference for close-combat is in stark contrast to the Raven Guard's preference for long-ranged and quick-moving strikes, especially as they prefer stealth and speed to the roar of assault jetpacks and jetbikes. However, these tactics were favored by the Night Lords and their Terror Squads. Indeed, the enforced silence and refusal to coordinate with Imperial forces of the Space Sharks is similar to the silence that Terror Squads would work with during the latter years of the Great Crusade. Rather than being a gene-seed curse, as with the Raven Guard, the Carcharodons simply isolate their vox nets and refuse to speak to anyone unless it is truly urgent and necessary.

As with the Space Sharks, the Night Lords were infamous for stealing the youth of conquered worlds for rapid implantation and hypno-indoctrination. While the former could also be a hallmark of the Nomad-Predation deployment pattern, the latter is a practice that seems to have been preferred by the Night Lords since it was the fastest and quickest way to make a new, battle-ready Space Marine in spite of the risks of instability and insanity it engendered.

Sharks are also ghostly, nocturnal predators, [[Konrad Curze|night haunters]] if you will, so there's that.

====World Eaters====
Yet another possibility maybe [[World Eaters]], since Space Sharks are silent and brooding outside of battle but go absolutely batshit crazy when ''in'' battle, no questions asked, and they seem to have a preference for chain-axes, which is somewhat unusual among Loyalist Space Marines. The love of chain weapons is carried over in a few other ways; one marine has what can only be described as a chain-club / staff - with an enormous flat chain blade running up one edge and handles on the opposite side at either end (potentially doubling as a very heavy duty eviscerator). Their predilection for close-combat and bloody melee, to an even greater degree than the Space Wolves, would be in keeping with the attitudes of the World Eaters and the War Hounds. Like the World Eaters, the Space Sharks have a preference for Drop Pod assaults, fast vehicles like Land Speeders, and Assault Terminators, and it can be argued that Tyberos's Terminator bodyguards, the ''Red Brethren'', are reminiscent of Angron's own Terminator posse, the ''Devourers''. Some of their ships also possess Ursus Claws, which only World Eaters used (but then again, it could just be a salvaged ship).

The main problem with this theory is the Butcher's Nails. We can assume one of two things when it comes to the Nails:
#The Space Sharks learned to control their urges outside of battle, lest they snap and massacre each other since they're out in the void of space for long periods of time doing nothing.
#Or they could have simply phased them out of their recruitment process after the Horus Heresy, seeing as it drove the other World Eaters fucking bonkers and was detrimental in the long run.

And whilst there were very few loyalist Night Lords (only two examples in the canon thus far), there are canonically loyalist World Eaters, both at Istvaan III and scattered around the Imperium during the Heresy.

====Chimeric Geneseed====
As another wrench is thrown in, in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novel ''Red Tithe'', it is heavily hinted that there are, in fact, ''multiple'' gene seeds utilized by the Space Sharks, primarily Raven Guard, Night Lords, and World Eaters. Given the typical canon conflicts that the Black Library is known for, this should be looked at with skepticism at least and as a half-assed excuse to explain why they have traits of all three Legions at best. Hopefully, this will be elaborated on in the future but for now, we can only theorize what this entails.

It is possible that the Carcharodons once consisted of Blackshields of Raven Guard and both loyalist Night Lords and World Eaters during the Horus Heresy, and after a time they were reformed into their own chapter and the traitor aspects of their origins were buried away. This ''could'' explain why their combat doctrine is an odd hybrid of their three supposed predecessors, any mutations they have are hard to connect to anyone Legion, why their equipment is so old and haphazard, and why they were sent out in the void of space due to their origins. Until we have hard evidence from Forge World itself on any such Blackshields, however, this is up in the air.

Another, simpler explanation is that, given the nature of the Space Sharks to scavenge whatever they find, it's possible that they harvested the gene-seed of the fallen marines they have killed. It's never explicitly said that their gene-seed is comprised of ''only'' the three suspected Legions; rather, it just happened to just be mostly the aforementioned three. For all we know they could trace back to every Legion through a small percentage of their gene-seed. Though admittedly, this train of thought makes their origin even harder to pinpoint as we don't have a clear-cut predecessor.

And it should be kept in mind that a good chunk of this information in the novel was divulged to one of the Space Sharks by a daemon. ''A daemon,'' for shit's sake. As we've seen with [[Magnus]], Chaos usually doesn't give accurate information.

This said, this is practically confirmed in HH6, where the Ashen Claws (Raven Guard) raid the Nostromo Sector to take their gear and Genesee. So if the Carcharodons are the Ashen Claws or a related group/successor, then they're Raven Guard and Night Lords. As of the novel ''Outer Dark,'' sequel to ''Red Tithe,'' it has been confirmed that the Carcharodons are related to the Ashen Claws and have a shaky pact with them. When the Carcharodons' Red Tithes can't refill their ranks fast enough, they are permitted to conscript young boys for augmentation from the fragmented domains that the Ashen Claws hid in beyond the Imperium's borders in exchange for war material and fresh Corax-derived gene-seed. It also seems their relationship is a shaky one prone to conflict. This suggests that the Carcharodons origins may lie with the Raven Guard exiles but the two groups split over whether to remain loyal to the Emperor or not. Regardless, both are willing to secretly come together against threats from beyond such as the [[Tyranids]]. When exchanging gene-seed and wargear for aspirants and fleet support, however, the Ashen Claws make a point of confirming whether the gene-seed being offered had been "contaminated with their disgusting breed", implying either widespread degeneration and mutation, or chimeric gene-seed among the Carcharodons.
Given how things were during the heresy, it's perfectly reasonable that there's some gene-seed from the Nostramo campaign in there, as well as some "loyalists" who joined up as Blackshields, seeing as they spent the Heresy as an independent force at the edges of the Imperium.
</div></div>

==Daily Rituals==
04:00 Wake Up - The Space Sharks emerge from their tanks. Before leaving, they make sure to feed their pet sharks.

05:00 Morning Prayer - The Space Sharks pra(e)y that the Emperor give them plenty of enemies to kill. The Chaplains do not speak during the service, merely gesture angrily. Any Marine who prays to be turned into a shark is forced to fight a real shark while bound.

06:00 Morning Firing Rites - The Space Sharks engage in ranged combat. The bolters are discarded within five minutes and the sharks charge into melee. Chapter serfs who often come to clean up afterwards are shocked to see chainswords, powerswords, knives, hammers, axes, and the occasional bite mark in the target dummies. Most of the dummies appear to be fish shaped. Blasting enemies point blank with a Bolt Pistol to also hit the guy behind him while gutting a third is heavily favored.

08:00 Morning Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice combat maneuvers. Most training focuses on underwater combat. Eating the enemy is a heavily encouraged tactic.

10:00 Morning Meal - The Space Sharks consume a light meal consisting of a barrel of live fish. The marine who eats the fastest gets to hold the chapter relic: a shark tooth.

11:00 Tactical Indoctrination - The Space Sharks learn what is friend and what is food. They must constantly be told that [[Ultramarines|bluberries]] are not food, but friends. They also learn to brutally eviscerate tanks and other armored structures. The viewing of Jaws is sometimes allowed for educational purposes.

13:00 Afternoon Meal - The Space Sharks collectively attack a Catachan Devil. The use of ranged weapons is forbidden, and the battle brother who rips the tail off gets to eat the first bite. Generally, it will be eaten shortly after death.

15:00 Afternoon Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice fighting against land enemies. Pulverizing [[Dark Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] with Power Fists and Hammers is heavily encouraged. Battle Brothers who get bored may target [[Orks]] and Cultists.

16:00 Afternoon Firing Rites - The Space Sharks fire upon cut outs of Shark Hunters and surfers. This time, the Chapter Serfs find few bolter casings and instead find bite marks.

17:00 Evening Meal - The Space Sharks consume a live Squiggoth. As per tradition, only the use of Rusty kitchen utensils, glass, rocks, and hammers is permitted. Stabbing at the eye is heavily encouraged.

19:00 Evening Preyer - The Space Sharks gather to worship and give thanks to the Void Father. Once a month, the Space Sharks celebrate communion by drinking fish oil and eating surfboards.

20:00 Free Time - The Space Sharks are permitted to engage in recreational activities. Playing with and feeding pet sharks in encouraged, whilst watching "Sharknado" and other comedies is another popular activity. If they've been especially good, marines may be allowed the privelge of feeding the megalodon that lives in the aquarium behind the Nicor's bridge with captured heretics and xenos.

23:00 Sleep Time - The Space Sharks are sent back to their tanks for rest.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
Carcharodons Chapter tactics gives all Space Marines models Fear, and allows Tactical marines to replace their bolters with a chainsword or keep it and buy an additional close combat weapon for 1pt each. In addition they gain Rage after destroying or forcing an infantry unit to fallback in close combat, however they must consolidate towards the nearest unit they can hurt (after all, [[Khorne|the rape train]] [[Meme|has no brakes!]]). This can make stuff like Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines, or even bikes surprisingly dangerous. Even a full batch of 10 footslogging Tacticals with extra CC weapons can be a pretty scary thing to face up against. Also, Dreadnoughts with Fear and Rage? Yes please.

Tyberos, their beloved Chapter Master, is quite the beast. He can destroy just about anything in the game in close combat. His Scent of Blood rule makes him and and any Carcharodon unit subject to Rage +1 strength for the rest of the game. He is [[Reasonable Marines|reasonable]] enough to wear a helmet and does not carry a banner and a shitton of flashy trinkets on his armour, unlike most other chapter masters, whose wargear just screams "Shoot me down, sniper!" Also, allows you to take a unit of lightning claw equipped assault terminators as troops; and he and any unit he joins have preferred enemy (infantry).

You can only ally with Imperial Forces and all of those are bumped down to Desperate Allies. All this means that, with them, you play Horus Heresy World Eaters with Fear and all the shiny new toys of the 40k arsenal of Space Marines.

They also have a couple of unique psyker powers:
:"From The Depths": The librarian casting this causes his targets to become intensely frightened, hallucinating about being in the deep dark depths of the ocean, immobilizing their opponent so that the Carcharodons can finish the target without a fight.
:"Rending Maw": The librarian summons a giant spirit shark that comes up out of the ground and bites the shit out of anyone unlucky enough to be there at the time.

===8th Edition===
[[File:Tyberos Red Wake Joseph Geddings.png|thumb|left|250px|"''There is no safety word.''" - Tyberos, the 'Red Wake']]
Currently, the only Carcharodons-specific thing in the game is Tyberos, in the Forge World Imperial Armour book. This go around he's got a standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} profile (which means he's been upgraded to the same 4++ the others have) with an extra Attack and one less Ballistic Skill (which doesn't matter as he has no guns). Wargear-wise, ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'' are now unique weapons - a chainfist and lightning claw equivalent respectively, except ''Hunger'' has +1 Damage and ''Slake'' has +1 Damage and -1AP. In special rules terms he's got the standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} ATSKNF, teleport deep strike and hit rerolls for {{W40kKeyword|CARCHARODONS}} within 6" (renamed '''Lord Reaper of the Void'''), but he also gives them +1 Strength thanks to his unique ability '''Savagery Beyond Reason''' (doesn't need activating any more, but it's now only a 6" bubble instead of the whole table). He's a great choice to lead a Deep Striking Assault Terminator squad, but at a little over 200 points you'll need to place him where he can do maximum damage to earn back that cost.

Codex Space Marines didn't bring any special joy for the Carcharodons. The White Scars Chapter Tactic is the GW-recommended "appropriate" one for them, even though they're (probably) Raven Guard successors (mostly because the Raven Guard tactic involves being sneaky rather than murdering the bloody fuck out of everything in melee). This gives them 2" of extra movement whenever they Advance, and allows them to charge the same turn they Fall Back. If you do choose to go with the Raven Guard one, enemies that are more than 12" away get -1 to hit you. Seeing as you'll probably be aiming to get right in their faces and stab them, this is probably a poor choice. Alternatively, The Imperium's Sword from the generic list is pretty good for a stabby warlord.

The Black Templars are your best bet if you want to maximize your melee potential. Rerolling charges is simple, but ''very'' effective, especially for Tyberos and his terminator posse when they warp in 9" from an enemy unit. Access to Crusader Squads is also nifty, especially if you want to emulate their previous rules of Tacticals having an extra CC weapon.

Here is an approximation of what 6th/7th edition rules would look like if they were updated to 8th, for the Carcharodons.
'''Warlord Trait: ''Carcharodons''. ''Reavers of the Outer Darkness'':''' Friendly CARCHARODON units within 6" gain: In the FIGHT phase, if this unit is fighting a unit that has lost any models, that unit being attacked reduces their Toughness by 1 for the remainder of the phase.

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Blood Hunger'':''' CARCHARODONS models gain +1A in a turn that the charged.

'''OR'''

An alternative Chapter Tactic for the Carcharodons is this...

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Terror from the Void'':''' Models in enemy units must subtract 1 from their Leadership characteristic for each unit with this trait that is within 6" of theirs (to a maximum of -3)

'''OR!''' '''OR!'''

'''With the release of the revised space marine codex, successor tactics let you pick 2 of 18 tactics to represent them on the table top.
Some of the most fluff related ones are

Fearsome Aspect: -1 Leadership to enemy units while they're within 3" of any of your units

Hungry for Battle: +1" to the advance or charge roll.

Tactical Withdrawal: Units with this tactic can charge after falling back.

Whirlwind of Rage: When making melee attacks for a unit that charged, was charged or made a Heroic Intervention,unmodified hit rolls of 6 score an additional hit.

'''OR!''' '''OR!''' '''OR!'''

Play them as successors to White Scars. You won't find better tools elsewhere to get into assault with and butcher things when you get there. Advance and/ Fallback and charge from their Chapter Trait; and +1 damage from Devastating Charge when the assault doctrine is active. Vastly superior to any of the successor Chapter Traits. As Whites Scars have relic, stratagems and Psychic powers that replicate "Hungry for Battle". While Tyberos’ +1S 6” aura, or +1S 6” aura from the relic banner is going to be far more effective than "Whirl Wind of Rage".

For and example of some of the combos you can do with Carcharodons as a White Scars successor. Take Tyberos using the "Hero of the chapter" stratagem to take the Imperium sword WL trait for +1 A and +1S, and re-rolling any or all charge dice. Now he's S6 boosting Hunger to: S12/AP-4/Dam3 with 7 attacks on the charge; and Slake S6/AP-3/Dam2/re-rolling failed wounds. You can do this as he doesn't have a fixed warlord trait and doesn't have to be your warlord. You can deep strike him along with a unit ten Assault Terminators with the Sgt using the "Khan's Champion" stratagem for Master-crafted Damage 5 Thunder Hammer. Now take a Terminator Librarian with the "Ride the Winds" psychic power for +2 to charge, and the "Plume of the Plains Runner" relic for a 6" aura granting +1 to advance and charge. Then if you need too. You activate the "Fierce Rivalries" stratagem to roll 3D6 to charge discarding the lowest; and you can command re-roll if needed for a 6" charge on 4D6.

For even more pain take a Jump Pack Captain as your actual Warlord with "Chogorian Storm" for +D3 attacks on the charge, then use "Tempered by Wisdom" to take "Master of Snares" as your second warlord trait for a 4+ roll to prevent an enemy unit falling back. You can now either arm him with an expensive Thunder Hammer, or go cheap with "Teeth of Terra" for +3 attacks for 8+D3 attacks at S5/AP-2/Damage 2. Personally, I'd take the Thunder Hammer and a Jump pack Lieutenant with the Teeth of Terra for re-rolling wounds. You can either outflank him or deep strike in with some double chainsword Vanguard and/or Assault Marines. All you jump pack infantry can advance and charge. Then next turn fallback, shoot and charge in again getting the bonus for shock assault again. Just brutal. Take a Jump Pack Chaplain with either "Benediction of Fury" relic for +2S/AP-2/ Damage 3; and or a Master-crafted Power Fist. For his litanies you can either take "Mantra of Strength" or "Canticle of Hate" for 6" aura of +2 to charge rolls, as well as +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. Canticle of Hate is the most useful if you start him on the board; since you can either move your jump pack units up with him or deep strike them into his aura.

For you troops you can take MSU Incursors or Intercessors with auto bolt rifles so they can they can move, advance, shoot and still charge. Then fallback, shoot and charge back in for that shock attack bonus. Taking a large unit or two of Scout Bikes is also very good in this build.

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

Traitor Legion Loyalists

2020-11-01T04:57:55Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* List of suspected chapters */

{{Wh40k-stub}}
{{Spoilers}}
[[File:TOTALLY LOYAL AND NOT AT ALL HERETICAL.jpeg|500px|thumb|right|COMPLETELY 100% LOYAL.]]
{{topquote|Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.|Exodus 23:2}}

'''Traitor Legion Loyalists''' are the rare few Space Marines who, despite hailing from the Traitor Legions, stayed loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, proving that despite what some characters in 40K think, having [[geneseed]] from a suspect source is no sure indicator of bad character. They are a very rare group of individuals given the initial purges of Loyalists elements from the Traitor Legions at the [[Battle of Isstvan III]] or by internal purges such as those enacted by “The Brotherhood” in the Word Bearers. While most of the information below has just been hints for now, this is a matter that has been popping up every now and then for the last few years.

As it happens, many of these Traitor Legion Loyalists during the [[Horus Heresy]] who did not end up in the annals of history became [[Blackshield|Blackshields]], the precursor to the 40K equivalent of the same name where a Marine with no emblems or markings can petition to join with the [[Deathwatch]] on a permanent basis, no questions asked. The term "Blackshield" by itself leaves it open as to whether the individual Marine seeks to redeem himself OR his chapter if it went rogue or was destroyed. Although Blackshields are a rarity in 40K, there were enough in 30K for such a tradition to begin and survive to the present day in the Imperium.

Those groups with enough numbers, or perhaps ties to the right people, were able to pass themselves off as successors of other Chapters after the [[Second Founding]]. [[Blood Ravens|Or their founders purged and changed their own records, so that over time, no one within the Chapter knows who their true progenitor is ]](which can lead to some [[skub|fun times]] when an Inquisitor comes across evidence that it occurred).

Generic armies of them can be fielded in 30K with the Orphans of Betrayal [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marine_Legion_List_(30k)#Rites_of_War|Rite of War]]. As is fitting for a rogue, largely unsupported force, the rite doesn't provide many bonuses unless you're fighting Traitor versions of the same Legion you're fielding.

==Known Loyalist Members of the Traitor Legions==
'''Note:''' Characters whose names are listed in ''italics'' have received rules in some form in FW's Horus Heresy releases for the 30k era.

* [[Death Guard]]
** ''[[Nathaniel Garro]]'' (became the first of the [[Knights-Errant]], first to bring word to the Imperium about the Horus Heresy)
** Andus Hakur
** Meric Voyen (former head Apothecary of 7th Great Company. Defected with Nathaniel Garro. Renounced his vows as an Astartes following 'The Flight of the Eisenstein', slain after being possessed by the Lord of the Flies)
** Huron-Fal (Venerable Dreadnought, chose to self-destruct rather than be killed on Isstvan III)
** Tollun Sendek (Slain by the Lord of the Flies on Luna)
** Ullis Temeter (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Helig Gallor (Recruited into the Knights-Errant)
** Bajun Kyda (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed at Proxima Majoris)
** ''[[Crysos Morturg]]'' (Became a Blackshield during the Battle of Isstvan III, survived and was rescued by Calleb Decima. He ended up surviving the entire Heresy and became Captain of the 108th Independent Company. He and his Company were eventually sent out to monitor and patrol the Ghoul Stars. Notably, this was over fifty years after the Heresy ended, implying at least some surviving Traitor Legion loyalists were utilized by the Imperium to form "Independent Companies" instead of Chapters)
** Erud Vahn (Became a Blackshield during the Horus Heresy)
** Juball (Died on Isstvan III)
** Solun Decius (Succumbed to Nurgle's Rot, becoming the daemonic entity calling itself "The Lord of the Flies")
* [[Emperor's Children]]
** ''[[Saul Tarvitz]]'' (Called "The First Loyalist" for being the first to realize the legions betrayal and helping to send warning to the Imperium. Currently MIA. Tho the authors have stated he died during the virus bombing of Istvaan III)
** Callion Zaven (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed on the 'Vengeful Spirit')
** Argentus Kiron (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** ''[[Ancient Rylanor]]'' (Contemptor Dreadnought, KIA post-Heresy, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Hb4bngxJ8 nearly succeeded in killing Daemon Prince Fulgrim])
** Rakishio (KIA in Sol System by traitor White Scars who failed to infiltrate Terra)
** Solomon Demeter (Captain of 2nd Company, KIA Isstvan III)
** Lord Commander Vespasian (slain by Fulgrim)
** Lord Commander Abdemon (Member of the original 200 Emperor's Children Legion survivors prior to reuniting with Fulgrim. Presumed slain on Isstvan III by traitor Astartes)
* [[Iron Warriors]]
** Warsmith [[Barabas Dantioch]] (14th Grand Company. Defied Horus' and Perturabos' orders to betray the Emperor. Lead his garrison in the defense of the stronghold *The Schadenhold* during the the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' [[Imperium Secundus]]. Activated the [[Pharos]] navigation/communication beacon under Guilliman's orders, unintentionally drawing the attention of the [[Tyranids]] to the Milky Way Galaxy. Sacrificed himself in a glorious battle to save the forces of [[Imperium Secundus]]. Posthumously declared a '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM'''.)
** Iron Palatine Zygmund Tarrasch (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Chaplain Zhnev (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Sergeant Ingoldt (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Legionary Baubrista (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Legionary Toledo (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Venerable Vastopol (14th Grand Company. Venerable Dreadnought. Died at the end of the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne)
** Ancient Khragan (14th Grand Company. Contemptor Dreadnought. Thought lost with dozens of others in a battle against the Hrud during the Great Crusade. Reappeared along with those dozens of others in a Loyalist Shattered Legion formation during the Constantinum Incursions of the Horus Heresy. Personally killed the traitors' leader.)
** Warsmith Kyr Vhalen (77th Grand Battalion. Led 2,800 loyalist Iron Warriors during the First Battle of Paramar. Survived. Never stopped cussing the traitor.)
** Legionary Zhinnon (77th Grand Battalion, 5th Counter-Armour Wing, 30th Squad. Fought for the Loyalists in the First Battle of Paramar. Survived)
** Consul-Praevian Nârik Dreygur (114th Grand Battalion. Initially allied with the Traitors, he eventually defected to the side of Cassian Dracos of the [[Salamanders (Chapter)|Salamanders]]. Led his Iron Warriors in a successful retaking of the planet of Mezoa from traitorous Alpha Legion forces.)
** Ancient Orgol (114th Grand Battalion. Deredeo Dreadnought. Answered Nârik Dreygur's call to arms to attack traitorous Alpha Legion.)
** Warsmith Auric Saxton (Remained fiercely loyal to the Emperor and killed the Lord Commander of the traitorous Emperor's Children during the Battle of the Harrow Ravening).
** Warsmith Annovuldi (Remained fiercely loyal to the Emperor and allied with the Raven Guard and helped take the planet Carandiru from the Traitor forces. Was later sent to Terra by Corvus Corax.)
** Tubal Cayne (A member of the Crusader Host. Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed while infiltrating the '[[Vengeful Spirit]]' during the Battle of Molech.)
* [[Luna Wolves]]
** ''[[Garviel Loken]]'' (Survived the battle of Isstvan III, recruited into the Knights-Errant, rules are for Luna Wolf version only.)
** [[Tarik Torgaddon]] (Killed on Isstvan III by Horus Aximand.)
** [[Iacton Qruze]] (Recruited into the Knights-Errant, later killed by Horus at Molech.)
** Severian (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Eventually became Iapto, one of the founding Grey Knights.)
** [[Nero Vipus]] (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Vaddon (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Unnamed Pre-Heresy Era Luna Wolf discovered in stasis on a [[Space Hulk]] and revived by the Flesh Tearers in M38 (Went berserk after getting an update on what happened before “borrowing” a warp jump capable vessel. Apparently now on a mission to personally put a boot in the ass of every traitorous Son of Horus he can find).
* [[World Eaters]]
** [[Macer Varren]] (Recruited into the Knights-Errant, killed on Terra by the Lord of Flies during the Battle of White Mountain)
** ''Endryd Haar'' (Became a Blackshield during the Horus Heresy, died fighting Abaddon at the Siege of Terra)
** Tagore (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Subha (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Asubha (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Skraal (Fought with Word Bearers to weaken their forces during the battle of Calth, slain on the Furious Abyss)
** Ehrlen (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Shabran Darr (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Karnaugar (Killed by his gene-father on Isstvan III with Angron staying at his side as he died out of respect for giving Angron a wound that nearly killed him)
** Juljak Nul "The Storm Walker" (killed on Isstvan III during a battle between the loyalist and traitor World Eaters, though not before killing several of the traitors.)
* [[Thousand Sons]]
** Atharva (Executed by Dorn on Terra, though either he or his shade appeared to Magnus after his defeat against Russ)
** Revuel Arvida (Fused with a fragment of Magnus and took the name Ianius, later the first Supreme Grand Master of the [[Grey Knights]])
** Omari Anat (captured by the [[Flesh Tearers]], stayed their captive to test whether or not [[Nassir Amit]] would go insane and kill him despite ample evidence of his innocence, fate unknown)
** Mhotep (Fought with Word Bearers/Chaos to weaken their forces during the battle of Calth, slain on the Furious Abyss)
** Izzakar Orr (part of the original defense of Prosporo, he was slain by the Space Wolves in a warp maze. His soul later helped the Space Wolves in M42 find the maze and rescue 200 Space Wolves who had been trapped since the Burning of Prosporo. After reuniting and resurrecting his body, he learned that the attack on Prospero had been ordered by the traitorous Warmaster [[Horus Lupercal]] and not [[Emperor|the Emperor of Mankind]]. He later closed the warp gate to the maze in order to prevent Magnus the Red from following the Space Wolves).
** Phosis T'Kar (part of the original defense of Prospero. Came to his senses and realized he had been warp corrupted during the battle. He then immediately stopped fighting, to allow Constantin Valdor to execute him, rather than continue falling to warp mutations/corruption).
* [[Night Lords]]
** Fel Zharost (Former Chief Librarian sent into exile, Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Possibly became Khyron, one of the founding Grey Knights)
** Kasati Nuon (Aided the Raven Guard in their guerilla war against the Traitor Legions)
** Vilnius Malik (Abandoned the Night Lords after becoming disgusted with what they had become. Joined up with the loyalist [[Alpha Legion]] warband The REDACTED.)
* [[Word Bearers]]
**Kaspian Hecht/Barthusa Narek (Initially drawn to the Knights-Errant. Went rogue and independent of all other factions. Helped Eldrad kill off the Cabal before returning to the Word Bearers secretly with plans to assassinate Lorgar with the Fulgurite leftover from the attempted assassination on Vulkan. Final fate unknown.)
**Volkhar Wreth (Member of the Crusader Host. Mortally wounded and forcibly bonded with a Daemon on Terra)
**[[The Anchorite]] (Disillusioned Astartes who surrendered on Calth and was spared by Guilliman. Entered contemplation while detained and re-embraced the [[Imperial Cult|Lectitio Divinitatus]]; which he had memorized in his youth. Interred in an Contemptor Dreadnought after attempted suicide and secretly taught the contents of the book to a selected few in the Imperial Cult's Ecclesiarchy on Almace. Existence revealed during the [[Indomitus Crusade]] and somehow manifests powers of a Living Saint.)
* [[Alpha Legion]]
** Legate Chaitan (Leader of a small fleet of loyalist Alpha Legion vessels. KIA alongside his crew and fleet on the strike cruiser ''Sigma'' by Alpharius's manipulation of the ''Sisypheum'''s crew while the Primarch was disguised as [[Shadrak Meduson]])
** Occam the Untrue (Leader of the REDACTED warband. Considers his legion a [[Cypher|tool to test the Imperium]]. Currently interrogating a Deceiver shard bound in a Tesseract Labyrinth after a very costly battle in M42)

==List of suspected chapters==
*'''[[Grey Knights]]''' (Founders were initially drawn from the [[Knights-Errant]]) - Outright stated, although only from their history. While several Astartes from Traitor Legions were among the founders of the Grey Knights, the Grey Knights believe their gene-seed is derived from the prime template of the Emperor, though whether that's true is a point of contention among the fanbase (despite it being repeatedly and clearly stated in any and all Grey Knight's fluff, it's still unclear just HOW Big E made it).
*'''[[Exorcists]]''' (Successors of the [[Grey Knights]]...alternatively [[Word Bearers]]) - Confirmed by extension from the Grey Knights. Alternatively, the link to the Grey Knights is only due to a small mention by an Inquisitor....and the Grey Knights are notoriously against ANYONE messing with their gene-seed. However, their Chapter colors, scripture written on their armour, specializing in getting possessed by daemons (the Exorcists then banish the daemons from their bodies) are almost 1 to 1 with Heresy-era Word Bearers.
*'''[[Shadow Wolves]]''' ([[Luna Wolves]]) - All but confirmed. Despite not being Space Wolves successors (being listed as Imperial Fists), they use tons of Wolfish iconography [[Bjorn the Fell Handed#Stormfangs|(no, not '''that''' kind)]]. Author/creator of the chapter (ADB) confirms they were created to represent the concept of loyalist Luna Wolves as a tribute to his wife Katie (who is a fan of the Luna Wolves).
*'''[[Blood Ravens]]''' ([[Thousand Sons]]) - All but confirmed. Links to the Thousand Sons Corvidae Cult, high number and heavy usage of Librarians (especially to look into the future to scry enemy's plans like the Corvidae Cult), similar color scheme to Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons, similarly have an extreme thirst for knowledge. The only known copies of their lineage are currently sealed under the orders of the Ordo Malleus. Just prior to the Fall of Prospero, a psyker named Kallista Eris foresaw the future of the Thousand Sons Corvidae Cult, during which she all but states they will become the Blood Ravens: "The Ravens. I see them too. The lost sons and a Raven of Blood. They cry out for salvation and knowledge, but it is denied!”
*'''[[Brotherhood of a Thousand]]''' ([[Thousand Sons]]) - Speculated. Minor Chapter with a tiny footnote implying heavy librarius and have a similar name. Use an "M" as their Chapter symbol, similarly to the heraldry of the Great Crusade-era Thousand Sons.
*'''[[Minotaurs]]''':
**(Old Lore) ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar battle doctrine, known for being complete berzerkers in battle.
**(Revamped Lore) ([[Iron Warriors]]) - All but confirmed. They maintain a similar battle doctrine that favours close combat but is now also focused on pragmatic, siege, and attrition warfare tactics (their special rule is a near exact match for the Horus Heresy Iron Warrior's signature special rules). Their Ancient Greek theme also matches up with the Iron Warriors, and their gene-seed is mentioned to have extremely high assimilation rates, just like the IVth Legion of old. They even have records of action dating back to M32. Edwin Brown, a playtester for the Badab War books, has also stated that the Minotaurs use Iron Warrior gene-seed. Of note: the lore alludes to the possibility of there having been another Chapter called the "Minotaurs" more similar to the old lore descriptions, being part of the [[21st Founding|21st Cursed Founding]] of M36, and references to chimeric gene-seed, adding to the the confusion of it all. Presumably, the old lore Chapter had chimeric World Eater/someone else geneseed and their creation/extinction was to secretly legitimize the "original" Iron Warrior Minotaurs under the direct command of the [[High Lords of Terra]]. One of the Badab War writers said that they were loyalist Iron Warriors rediscovered during the Great Scouring in a distant garrison who hadn't received the news of the Heresy at all. They were allowed to remain under a short leash by the High Lords. Again presumably, the Cursed Founding World Eater/someone else chimera Minotaurs being destroyed in a sufficiently deniable fashion allowed the High Lords to get this secret unit formalised.
*'''[[Silver Skulls]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - All but confirmed. Suspected to be from the gene-seed of the loyalist Iron Warriors, led by [[Barabas Dantioch]], who helped defend Ultramar. The Silver Skulls are well known for siege warfare (including a rank called "Siege Captain"), masters of building fortifications (their fortress monastery is said to have impressed Rogal Dorn himself), and their Chapter iconography/colors are near identical to pre-Heresy Iron Warriors. Their Chapter records are stated as "lost" so they do not officially know which legion they are founded from, despite being Second Founding. Their gene-seed records on Terra are also locked away beyond even Inquisitional authority. The author of the Silver Skulls series has said they are successors founded from Dantioch's garrison, and were adopted by the Ultramarines (thus making them a case of the ''Ultramarines Connection''). She has also said that their religious aspects are just due to the culture they are recruited from, and Silver Skulls from outside their main recruitment world find these traditions strange and backwards as well.
*'''[[Marines Malevolent]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Speculated. Very similar behaviors to Iron Warriors, some similar iconography. Extremely pragmatic, consider one another disposable, complete disregard for causalities or collateral damage, an extreme disdain for weakness, a tendency to challenge other Chapters, and they are pretty entitled little bastards. Like the Minotaurs, they take the wargear of defeated Astartes foes as trophies. They basically are the Minotaurs, if the Minotaurs DIDN'T have the backing of the High Lords. Their veteran's markings are also identical to the Iron Warrior's signature yellow/black hazard stripes.
*'''[[Necropolis Hawks]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Speculated, officially listed as [[Raven Guard]] successors. Similar behaviors to the [[Iron Warriors]], particularly pragmatic, calculating, unrelenting, brutal, and a preference for close quarters combat. Unlike most supposed Raven Guard successors, they do not specialize in stealth, ambush, or guerrilla tactics (or really use them at all). Instead they specialize in urban warfare/city assault (as in siege warfare, once the walls are breached). tl;dr - They act nothing like their supposed progenitors, but a LOT like [[Iron Warriors]]. Not like Cawl hasn't made [[Sons of the Phoenix|other Primaris chapters]] from Traitor Legion gene stocks.
*'''[[Iron Fists]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Suspected. Only rumored to be Iron Hands successors, but colors similar to Iron Warriors. They also share their name with a known Iron Warriors warband.
*'''[[Death Eagles]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - All but confirmed (origin suspected due to records of a Loyalist Blackshield warband from the Emperor's Children's Death Eagles company during the Horus Heresy) while the Chapter's recorded actions stretch back as far as M32.
*'''[[Red Scorpions]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - Speculated. Have an obsession with the "perfection" of their gene-seed, to the point of being outright hostile to any they see as "imperfect". Said geneseed also happens to have a mutation rate inferior to even that of the Ultramarines and Dark Angels (purest among the loyalist legions), but the Scorpions refuse to surrender any samples to the Inquisition. There is also the fact that their armories are stacked with old-patterns of tech, such as Deimos-pattern predators, Proteus-pattern Land Raiders, and MKIV dreadnoughts; which unlike the Minotaurs, cannot be explained by High Lords favoritism. Unlike the Death Eagles or Carcharadons though, there are no records of them existing as a Blackshield force during the Heresy. The Chapter only enters Imperial records for the first time until M34, well after [[Black Templars|The Howling]], and the 4th [[Black Crusade]].
*'''[[Sons of the Phoenix]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - All but confirmed (it's practically confirmed that [[Belisarius Cawl|Papa Cawl]] got a hold of uncorrupted III Legion gene-seed). Similar iconography. Their name also possibly references Fulgrim, who was known as the Palatine Phoenix. Known for liking to put on a show when in combat. Causing as much flash and boom as they can, like a rock star concert. The even have groupies.
*'''[[Carcharadons]]''' ([[Night Lords]]) - Speculated. Possible chimeric gene-seed. Most similar beliefs and battle doctrine to Night Lords. Often have a black and white morality. Focus on shock and fear tactics combined with stealth. Preferred tactic is to brutally and horrifically annihilate the target population (be they enemy or civilian), but leave a few survivors to go tell everyone else about what happened. Physical traits (black eyes, pale skin) similar to both Night Lords and Raven Guard. Dagger-like teeth similar to Kurze's own. Mental mutations and unstable sanity similar to Night Lords. Similarly to Night Lords, the Carcharadons recruit from criminal populations. Their newest lore hints at them being at least one part [[Raven Guard]] successors; specifically the [[Ashen Claws]]: a [[blackshield]] warband that was heavily involved in the fights across the [[Nostramo]] sector during the Heresy, as the Carcharadons share the title for their leader: "Shade Lord". However, the Ashen Claws warband still exists as of [[M41]]. Notably, said Ashen Claws have flatly called the Carcharadons "traitor-born" and of a different breed than themselves or the Raven Guard. Likewise, a Night Lord officer noted that the Carcharadons seems to be a mirror of their own legion.
*'''[[Raptors (Chapter)]]''' ([[Night Lords]]) - Speculated, only rumored to be [[Raven Guard]]. Gene-seed more similar to Night Lords. While they suffer the pale skin/black eyes seen in both Raven Guard and Night Lords, unlike the Raven Guard but just like the Night Lords, they have fully functional Betcher's Glands. Their homeworld is near the Eye of Terror, but despite being a well known and active Chapter, their homeworld's name has been "lost", so no one knows what or where it is. The Chapter once blockaded a system, with the entire system's population vanishing. Anyone who attempted to investigate, even members of the Inquisition, also disappeared without a trace. While the Chapter shares it's name with Corvus Corax's attempt at making a [[Primaris Space Marines|Space Marine 2.0]], said attempt ended in complete [[fail|failure]] thanks to [[Alpha Legion]] [[Just As Planned|sabotage]], the mutated products of the program were all killed in battle. However, they also partially share the name with the Night Lords' "Night Raptors" formation....
*'''[[Storm Wardens]]''' ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar preferred battle doctrine and color scheme to pre-Heresy War Hounds (armored assaults combined with close-combat infantry, blue armor with white pauldrons). Records of their origins have been deliberately lost or destroyed. Additionally their homeworld is sanctioned against contacting the rest of the Imperium.
*'''[[Executioners]] & Successors''' ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar battle doctrine. Highly similar Chapter culture and behaviors. Iconography made of images minorly associated with the World Eaters (red, axes). Two of their three successor Chapters' names invoke more Khornite associations (Crimson Axes and Skull Bearers). Known for having some of the most brutal close combat methods, even for Astartes. A liking for decorating their armour with the flayed skin of their victims. Lineage questioned by other Imperial Fists successors due to lacking traits associated with the sons of Dorn. Known to be reclusive, only closely associating with their own successor Chapters. This [[Black Templars|isn't exactly unique]] among Imperial Fist successors however, and the HH black books and novels all but state that their unique culture is due to their origins in the VIIth legion's [[Breacher Siege Squad|specialist formations]].
*'''[[Fire Angels]]''' ([[Word Bearers]]) - Speculated. Highly similar behaviors and doctrine. Strict following of whatever rules they are given? Check, they follow the Codex to the letter. Highly Religious? Double check, they make the Black Templars seem like choir boys in their levels of religious zeal. Don't like Guilliman? Check. Their armour colors are even the same as the Word Bearers, just reversed (what the Word Bearers paint red, the Fire Angels paint silver. What the Word Bearers paint silver, they paint red). The combination of all of these traits, along with their Chapter colors) makes them essentially loyalist Word Bearers in all but name, but that's as far as the similarities go. However, they aren't the only highly religious Astartes Chapter, nor are they the only Chapter to adhere so strictly to the Codex (especially among Ultramarines), or the only "Ultramarines" successors to not like Guilliman (see the Mortifactors below). Much like the Executioners, there isn't any evidence hinting that their behavior is the result of genetics and not the cultural changes undergone by the Imperium in 10 000 years, especially considering that they are a Chapter that wasn't founded until very recently. However, much like the Minotaurs, there are noted records hinting that [[Sable Swords|theirs is not the first incarnation]] of the Fire Angels Chapter.
*'''[[Covenant of Fire]]''' ([[Word Bearers]]) - All but confirmed. While officially listed as "Salamanders", the Covenant of Fire are blatently Word Bearers who simply follow the Promethean Cult. Their color scheme and iconography are a near identical match to pre-heresy Word Bearers, and their attitudes and behaviors are a near 1-1 for pre-Heresy Word Bearers. Seems Cawl is getting more and more blatent in using traitor legion geneseed.
*'''[[Sons of Antaeus]]''' ([[Death Guard]]) - Speculated. Similar genetic traits included an unnatural hardy stock.
*'''[[Mortifactors]]''' ([[Death Guard]]) - Speculated. Similar color scheme and iconography to pre-Heresy Death Guard, specialize in night fighting like the Dusk Raiders, similar grim attitude, and have a preference for using Power Scythes (the signature weapon of the Death Guard). This Chapter is also obsessed with death, I mean really obsessed with it. Like the [[Fire Angels]], these guys really do not like their "official" Primarch. Being a [[Second Founding]] Chapter, they could be a prime example of the ''Ultramarine Connection''.
*'''[[Iron Snakes]]''' ([[Alpha Legion]]) - Speculated, officially from [[Ultramarine]] stock. Use combat doctrines and show behaviors extremely similar to the [[Alpha Legion]]. Similar iconography (a single-headed snake instead of a three-headed hydra). The Iron Snakes also have unusually specific design similarities to said [[Alpha Legion]]. Such as their Chapter Master being [[Primarch|taller than usual for an Astartes]], [[Alpharius|conceals his face]], and has been known to [[Omegon|swap identities]]. They also separate their Chapter into independent cells, just like Alpha Legion harrows. Due to being [[Second Founding]], they are also likely an example of the ''Ultramarines Connection''.
*'''[[Angry Marines]]''' ([[World Eaters]]) - They can say whatever they want about [[Rachnus Rageous|who they think their Primarch is]], but the Inquisition still suspects [[Angron]].

==The Ultramarine's Second Founding Connection==
The [[Ultramarines]] are confirmed to have harboured loyalist members of Traitor Legions after the Heresy, rebranding them as their own to obfuscate the newcomer's past (as for why they would do such a thing, [[Roboute Guilliman]] himself is characterized as someone who abhorred the waste of any human life (Astartes or otherwise)). Guilliman also needed all the manpower he could get when he thought the rest of the Imperium was destroyed during the era of [[Imperium Secundus]], so giving even legionnaires from suspect sources a chance to prove themselves was a practical solution, for which in the end he was not disappointed. The penning of the Codex Astartes and the shattering of the Legions into individual Chapters would also have provided the perfect opportunity to separate the loyalist Traitor Legion elements back into separate formations (both to work more as they were intended, and to make it easier to exterminate any of them that decided to betray the Imperium at a later time). Furthermore, it is confirmed that after '''[REDACTED]''' that led to the deaths of the Missing Primarchs happened, the Astartes of the II and XI Legions were mind-wiped by Malcador the Sigilite into thinking they had always been part of the Ultramarines and Imperial Fists, as to not waste useful Astartes assets. This act was backed up by Dorn and Guilliman voluntarily agreeing to have their memories of what really happened suppressed beyond even a Primarch's ability to recall. Dorn would later have this mental block partially lifted, making it likely Guilliman did the same. So, the speculation regarding the [[Valedictors]] and the [[Rainbow Warriors]] being lost legion loyalists might have some truth to it after all.

Of the Chapters listed above, the Chapters that are suspected of this connection are:

*'''[[Silver Skulls]]''' - [[Iron Warriors]]
*'''[[Mortifactors]]''' - [[Death Guard]]
*'''[[Iron Snakes]]''' - [[Alpha Legion]]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category: Chaos]]

==Sources==

'''Forge World Horus Heresy Rulebooks'''
*''Betrayal''
*''Retribution''

'''Horus Heresy Novels'''
*''Flight of the Eisenstein''
*''Pharos''
*''Vengeful Spirit''
*''Corax''
** ''Weregeld''

'''Other'''
*How to Paint Space Marines, pg. 86
*Apocalypse by Josh Reynolds

Traitor Legion Loyalists

2020-11-01T04:57:11Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* List of suspected chapters */

{{Wh40k-stub}}
{{Spoilers}}
[[File:TOTALLY LOYAL AND NOT AT ALL HERETICAL.jpeg|500px|thumb|right|COMPLETELY 100% LOYAL.]]
{{topquote|Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.|Exodus 23:2}}

'''Traitor Legion Loyalists''' are the rare few Space Marines who, despite hailing from the Traitor Legions, stayed loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, proving that despite what some characters in 40K think, having [[geneseed]] from a suspect source is no sure indicator of bad character. They are a very rare group of individuals given the initial purges of Loyalists elements from the Traitor Legions at the [[Battle of Isstvan III]] or by internal purges such as those enacted by “The Brotherhood” in the Word Bearers. While most of the information below has just been hints for now, this is a matter that has been popping up every now and then for the last few years.

As it happens, many of these Traitor Legion Loyalists during the [[Horus Heresy]] who did not end up in the annals of history became [[Blackshield|Blackshields]], the precursor to the 40K equivalent of the same name where a Marine with no emblems or markings can petition to join with the [[Deathwatch]] on a permanent basis, no questions asked. The term "Blackshield" by itself leaves it open as to whether the individual Marine seeks to redeem himself OR his chapter if it went rogue or was destroyed. Although Blackshields are a rarity in 40K, there were enough in 30K for such a tradition to begin and survive to the present day in the Imperium.

Those groups with enough numbers, or perhaps ties to the right people, were able to pass themselves off as successors of other Chapters after the [[Second Founding]]. [[Blood Ravens|Or their founders purged and changed their own records, so that over time, no one within the Chapter knows who their true progenitor is ]](which can lead to some [[skub|fun times]] when an Inquisitor comes across evidence that it occurred).

Generic armies of them can be fielded in 30K with the Orphans of Betrayal [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marine_Legion_List_(30k)#Rites_of_War|Rite of War]]. As is fitting for a rogue, largely unsupported force, the rite doesn't provide many bonuses unless you're fighting Traitor versions of the same Legion you're fielding.

==Known Loyalist Members of the Traitor Legions==
'''Note:''' Characters whose names are listed in ''italics'' have received rules in some form in FW's Horus Heresy releases for the 30k era.

* [[Death Guard]]
** ''[[Nathaniel Garro]]'' (became the first of the [[Knights-Errant]], first to bring word to the Imperium about the Horus Heresy)
** Andus Hakur
** Meric Voyen (former head Apothecary of 7th Great Company. Defected with Nathaniel Garro. Renounced his vows as an Astartes following 'The Flight of the Eisenstein', slain after being possessed by the Lord of the Flies)
** Huron-Fal (Venerable Dreadnought, chose to self-destruct rather than be killed on Isstvan III)
** Tollun Sendek (Slain by the Lord of the Flies on Luna)
** Ullis Temeter (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Helig Gallor (Recruited into the Knights-Errant)
** Bajun Kyda (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed at Proxima Majoris)
** ''[[Crysos Morturg]]'' (Became a Blackshield during the Battle of Isstvan III, survived and was rescued by Calleb Decima. He ended up surviving the entire Heresy and became Captain of the 108th Independent Company. He and his Company were eventually sent out to monitor and patrol the Ghoul Stars. Notably, this was over fifty years after the Heresy ended, implying at least some surviving Traitor Legion loyalists were utilized by the Imperium to form "Independent Companies" instead of Chapters)
** Erud Vahn (Became a Blackshield during the Horus Heresy)
** Juball (Died on Isstvan III)
** Solun Decius (Succumbed to Nurgle's Rot, becoming the daemonic entity calling itself "The Lord of the Flies")
* [[Emperor's Children]]
** ''[[Saul Tarvitz]]'' (Called "The First Loyalist" for being the first to realize the legions betrayal and helping to send warning to the Imperium. Currently MIA. Tho the authors have stated he died during the virus bombing of Istvaan III)
** Callion Zaven (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed on the 'Vengeful Spirit')
** Argentus Kiron (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** ''[[Ancient Rylanor]]'' (Contemptor Dreadnought, KIA post-Heresy, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Hb4bngxJ8 nearly succeeded in killing Daemon Prince Fulgrim])
** Rakishio (KIA in Sol System by traitor White Scars who failed to infiltrate Terra)
** Solomon Demeter (Captain of 2nd Company, KIA Isstvan III)
** Lord Commander Vespasian (slain by Fulgrim)
** Lord Commander Abdemon (Member of the original 200 Emperor's Children Legion survivors prior to reuniting with Fulgrim. Presumed slain on Isstvan III by traitor Astartes)
* [[Iron Warriors]]
** Warsmith [[Barabas Dantioch]] (14th Grand Company. Defied Horus' and Perturabos' orders to betray the Emperor. Lead his garrison in the defense of the stronghold *The Schadenhold* during the the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' [[Imperium Secundus]]. Activated the [[Pharos]] navigation/communication beacon under Guilliman's orders, unintentionally drawing the attention of the [[Tyranids]] to the Milky Way Galaxy. Sacrificed himself in a glorious battle to save the forces of [[Imperium Secundus]]. Posthumously declared a '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM'''.)
** Iron Palatine Zygmund Tarrasch (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Chaplain Zhnev (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Sergeant Ingoldt (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Legionary Baubrista (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Legionary Toledo (14th Grand Company. Survived the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne. Recruited by the Ultramarines to '''FORTIFY''' Imperium Secundus.)
** Venerable Vastopol (14th Grand Company. Venerable Dreadnought. Died at the end of the Great Siege of Lesser Damantyne)
** Ancient Khragan (14th Grand Company. Contemptor Dreadnought. Thought lost with dozens of others in a battle against the Hrud during the Great Crusade. Reappeared along with those dozens of others in a Loyalist Shattered Legion formation during the Constantinum Incursions of the Horus Heresy. Personally killed the traitors' leader.)
** Warsmith Kyr Vhalen (77th Grand Battalion. Led 2,800 loyalist Iron Warriors during the First Battle of Paramar. Survived. Never stopped cussing the traitor.)
** Legionary Zhinnon (77th Grand Battalion, 5th Counter-Armour Wing, 30th Squad. Fought for the Loyalists in the First Battle of Paramar. Survived)
** Consul-Praevian Nârik Dreygur (114th Grand Battalion. Initially allied with the Traitors, he eventually defected to the side of Cassian Dracos of the [[Salamanders (Chapter)|Salamanders]]. Led his Iron Warriors in a successful retaking of the planet of Mezoa from traitorous Alpha Legion forces.)
** Ancient Orgol (114th Grand Battalion. Deredeo Dreadnought. Answered Nârik Dreygur's call to arms to attack traitorous Alpha Legion.)
** Warsmith Auric Saxton (Remained fiercely loyal to the Emperor and killed the Lord Commander of the traitorous Emperor's Children during the Battle of the Harrow Ravening).
** Warsmith Annovuldi (Remained fiercely loyal to the Emperor and allied with the Raven Guard and helped take the planet Carandiru from the Traitor forces. Was later sent to Terra by Corvus Corax.)
** Tubal Cayne (A member of the Crusader Host. Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Killed while infiltrating the '[[Vengeful Spirit]]' during the Battle of Molech.)
* [[Luna Wolves]]
** ''[[Garviel Loken]]'' (Survived the battle of Isstvan III, recruited into the Knights-Errant, rules are for Luna Wolf version only.)
** [[Tarik Torgaddon]] (Killed on Isstvan III by Horus Aximand.)
** [[Iacton Qruze]] (Recruited into the Knights-Errant, later killed by Horus at Molech.)
** Severian (Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Eventually became Iapto, one of the founding Grey Knights.)
** [[Nero Vipus]] (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Vaddon (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Unnamed Pre-Heresy Era Luna Wolf discovered in stasis on a [[Space Hulk]] and revived by the Flesh Tearers in M38 (Went berserk after getting an update on what happened before “borrowing” a warp jump capable vessel. Apparently now on a mission to personally put a boot in the ass of every traitorous Son of Horus he can find).
* [[World Eaters]]
** [[Macer Varren]] (Recruited into the Knights-Errant, killed on Terra by the Lord of Flies during the Battle of White Mountain)
** ''Endryd Haar'' (Became a Blackshield during the Horus Heresy, died fighting Abaddon at the Siege of Terra)
** Tagore (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Subha (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Asubha (Member of the Outcast Dead, slain on Terra)
** Skraal (Fought with Word Bearers to weaken their forces during the battle of Calth, slain on the Furious Abyss)
** Ehrlen (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Shabran Darr (Killed on Isstvan III)
** Karnaugar (Killed by his gene-father on Isstvan III with Angron staying at his side as he died out of respect for giving Angron a wound that nearly killed him)
** Juljak Nul "The Storm Walker" (killed on Isstvan III during a battle between the loyalist and traitor World Eaters, though not before killing several of the traitors.)
* [[Thousand Sons]]
** Atharva (Executed by Dorn on Terra, though either he or his shade appeared to Magnus after his defeat against Russ)
** Revuel Arvida (Fused with a fragment of Magnus and took the name Ianius, later the first Supreme Grand Master of the [[Grey Knights]])
** Omari Anat (captured by the [[Flesh Tearers]], stayed their captive to test whether or not [[Nassir Amit]] would go insane and kill him despite ample evidence of his innocence, fate unknown)
** Mhotep (Fought with Word Bearers/Chaos to weaken their forces during the battle of Calth, slain on the Furious Abyss)
** Izzakar Orr (part of the original defense of Prosporo, he was slain by the Space Wolves in a warp maze. His soul later helped the Space Wolves in M42 find the maze and rescue 200 Space Wolves who had been trapped since the Burning of Prosporo. After reuniting and resurrecting his body, he learned that the attack on Prospero had been ordered by the traitorous Warmaster [[Horus Lupercal]] and not [[Emperor|the Emperor of Mankind]]. He later closed the warp gate to the maze in order to prevent Magnus the Red from following the Space Wolves).
** Phosis T'Kar (part of the original defense of Prospero. Came to his senses and realized he had been warp corrupted during the battle. He then immediately stopped fighting, to allow Constantin Valdor to execute him, rather than continue falling to warp mutations/corruption).
* [[Night Lords]]
** Fel Zharost (Former Chief Librarian sent into exile, Recruited into the Knights-Errant. Possibly became Khyron, one of the founding Grey Knights)
** Kasati Nuon (Aided the Raven Guard in their guerilla war against the Traitor Legions)
** Vilnius Malik (Abandoned the Night Lords after becoming disgusted with what they had become. Joined up with the loyalist [[Alpha Legion]] warband The REDACTED.)
* [[Word Bearers]]
**Kaspian Hecht/Barthusa Narek (Initially drawn to the Knights-Errant. Went rogue and independent of all other factions. Helped Eldrad kill off the Cabal before returning to the Word Bearers secretly with plans to assassinate Lorgar with the Fulgurite leftover from the attempted assassination on Vulkan. Final fate unknown.)
**Volkhar Wreth (Member of the Crusader Host. Mortally wounded and forcibly bonded with a Daemon on Terra)
**[[The Anchorite]] (Disillusioned Astartes who surrendered on Calth and was spared by Guilliman. Entered contemplation while detained and re-embraced the [[Imperial Cult|Lectitio Divinitatus]]; which he had memorized in his youth. Interred in an Contemptor Dreadnought after attempted suicide and secretly taught the contents of the book to a selected few in the Imperial Cult's Ecclesiarchy on Almace. Existence revealed during the [[Indomitus Crusade]] and somehow manifests powers of a Living Saint.)
* [[Alpha Legion]]
** Legate Chaitan (Leader of a small fleet of loyalist Alpha Legion vessels. KIA alongside his crew and fleet on the strike cruiser ''Sigma'' by Alpharius's manipulation of the ''Sisypheum'''s crew while the Primarch was disguised as [[Shadrak Meduson]])
** Occam the Untrue (Leader of the REDACTED warband. Considers his legion a [[Cypher|tool to test the Imperium]]. Currently interrogating a Deceiver shard bound in a Tesseract Labyrinth after a very costly battle in M42)

==List of suspected chapters==
*'''[[Grey Knights]]''' (Founders were initially drawn from the [[Knights-Errant]]) - Outright stated, although only from their history. While several Astartes from Traitor Legions were among the founders of the Grey Knights, the Grey Knights believe their gene-seed is derived from the prime template of the Emperor, though whether that's true is a point of contention among the fanbase (despite it being repeatedly and clearly stated in any and all Grey Knight's fluff, it's still unclear just HOW Big E made it).
*'''[[Exorcists]]''' (Successors of the [[Grey Knights]]...alternatively [[Word Bearers]]) - Confirmed by extension from the Grey Knights. Alternatively, the link to the Grey Knights is only due to a small mention by an Inquisitor....and the Grey Knights are notoriously against ANYONE messing with their gene-seed. However, their Chapter colors, scripture written on their armour, specializing in getting possessed by daemons (the Exorcists then banish the daemons from their bodies) are almost 1 to 1 with Heresy-era Word Bearers.
*'''[[Shadow Wolves]]''' ([[Luna Wolves]]) - All but confirmed. Despite not being Space Wolves successors (being listed as Imperial Fists), they use tons of Wolfish iconography [[Bjorn the Fell Handed#Stormfangs|(no, not '''that''' kind)]]. Author/creator of the chapter (ADB) confirms they were created to represent the concept of loyalist Luna Wolves as a tribute to his wife Katie (who is a fan of the Luna Wolves).
*'''[[Blood Ravens]]''' ([[Thousand Sons]]) - All but confirmed. Links to the Thousand Sons Corvidae Cult, high number and heavy usage of Librarians (especially to look into the future to scry enemy's plans like the Corvidae Cult), similar color scheme to Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons, similarly have an extreme thirst for knowledge. The only known copies of their lineage are currently sealed under the orders of the Ordo Malleus. Just prior to the Fall of Prospero, a psyker named Kallista Eris foresaw the future of the Thousand Sons Corvidae Cult, during which she all but states they will become the Blood Ravens: "The Ravens. I see them too. The lost sons and a Raven of Blood. They cry out for salvation and knowledge, but it is denied!”
*'''[[Brotherhood of a Thousand]]''' ([[Thousand Sons]]) - Speculated. Minor Chapter with a tiny footnote implying heavy librarius and have a similar name. Use an "M" as their Chapter symbol, similarly to the heraldry of the Great Crusade-era Thousand Sons.
*'''[[Minotaurs]]''':
**(Old Lore) ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar battle doctrine, known for being complete berzerkers in battle.
**(Revamped Lore) ([[Iron Warriors]]) - All but confirmed. They maintain a similar battle doctrine that favours close combat but is now also focused on pragmatic, siege, and attrition warfare tactics (their special rule is a near exact match for the Horus Heresy Iron Warrior's signature special rules). Their Ancient Greek theme also matches up with the Iron Warriors, and their gene-seed is mentioned to have extremely high assimilation rates, just like the IVth Legion of old. They even have records of action dating back to M32. Edwin Brown, a playtester for the Badab War books, has also stated that the Minotaurs use Iron Warrior gene-seed. Of note: the lore alludes to the possibility of there having been another Chapter called the "Minotaurs" more similar to the old lore descriptions, being part of the [[21st Founding|21st Cursed Founding]] of M36, and references to chimeric gene-seed, adding to the the confusion of it all. Presumably, the old lore Chapter had chimeric World Eater/someone else geneseed and their creation/extinction was to secretly legitimize the "original" Iron Warrior Minotaurs under the direct command of the [[High Lords of Terra]]. One of the Badab War writers said that they were loyalist Iron Warriors rediscovered during the Great Scouring in a distant garrison who hadn't received the news of the Heresy at all. They were allowed to remain under a short leash by the High Lords. Again presumably, the Cursed Founding World Eater/someone else chimera Minotaurs being destroyed in a sufficiently deniable fashion allowed the High Lords to get this secret unit formalised.
*'''[[Silver Skulls]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - All but confirmed. Suspected to be from the gene-seed of the loyalist Iron Warriors, led by [[Barabas Dantioch]], who helped defend Ultramar. The Silver Skulls are well known for siege warfare (including a rank called "Siege Captain"), masters of building fortifications (their fortress monastery is said to have impressed Rogal Dorn himself), and their Chapter iconography/colors are near identical to pre-Heresy Iron Warriors. Their Chapter records are stated as "lost" so they do not officially know which legion they are founded from, despite being Second Founding. Their gene-seed records on Terra are also locked away beyond even Inquisitional authority. The author of the Silver Skulls series has said they are successors founded from Dantioch's garrison, and were adopted by the Ultramarines (thus making them a case of the ''Ultramarines Connection''). She has also said that their religious aspects are just due to the culture they are recruited from, and Silver Skulls from outside their main recruitment world find these traditions strange and backwards as well.
*'''[[Marines Malevolent]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Speculated. Very similar behaviors to Iron Warriors, some similar iconography. Extremely pragmatic, consider one another disposable, complete disregard for causalities or collateral damage, an extreme disdain for weakness, a tendency to challenge other Chapters, and they are pretty entitled little bastards. Like the Minotaurs, they take the wargear of defeated Astartes foes as trophies. They basically are the Minotaurs, if the Minotaurs DIDN'T have the backing of the High Lords. Their veteran's markings are also identical to the Iron Warrior's signature yellow/black hazard stripes.
*'''[[Necropolis Hawks]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Speculated, officially listed as [[Raven Guard]] successors. Similar behaviors to the [[Iron Warriors]], particularly pragmatic, calculating, unrelenting, brutal, and a preference for close quarters combat. Unlike most supposed Raven Guard successors, they do not specialize in stealth, ambush, or guerrilla tactics (or really use them at all). Instead they specialize in urban warfare/city assault (as in siege warfare, once the walls are breached). tl;dr - They act nothing like their supposed progenitors, but a LOT like [[Iron Warriors]]. Not like Cawl hasn't made [[Sons of the Phoenix|other Primaris chapters]] from Traitor Legion gene stocks.
*'''[[Iron Fists]]''' ([[Iron Warriors]]) - Suspected. Only rumored to be Iron Hands successors, but colors similar to Iron Warriors. They also share their name with a known Iron Warriors warband.
*'''[[Death Eagles]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - All but confirmed (origin suspected due to records of a Loyalist Blackshield warband from the Emperor's Children's Death Eagles company during the Horus Heresy) while the Chapter's recorded actions stretch back as far as M32.
*'''[[Red Scorpions]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - Speculated. Have an obsession with the "perfection" of their gene-seed, to the point of being outright hostile to any they see as "imperfect". Said geneseed also happens to have a mutation rate inferior to even that of the Ultramarines and Dark Angels (purest among the loyalist legions), but the Scorpions refuse to surrender any samples to the Inquisition. There is also the fact that their armories are stacked with old-patterns of tech, such as Deimos-pattern predators, Proteus-pattern Land Raiders, and MKIV dreadnoughts; which unlike the Minotaurs, cannot be explained by High Lords favoritism. Unlike the Death Eagles or Carcharadons though, there are no records of them existing as a Blackshield force during the Heresy. The Chapter only enters Imperial records for the first time until M34, well after [[Black Templars|The Howling]], and the 4th [[Black Crusade]].
*'''[[Sons of the Phoenix]]''' ([[Emperor's Children]]) - All but confirmed (it's practically confirmed that [[Belisarius Cawl|Papa Cawl]] got a hold of uncorrupted III Legion gene-seed). Similar iconography. Their name also possibly references Fulgrim, who was known as the Palatine Phoenix. Known for liking to put on a show when in combat. Causing as much flash and boom as they can, like a rock star concert. The even have groupies.
*'''[[Carcharadons]]''' ([[Night Lords]]) - Speculated. Possible chimeric gene-seed. Most similar beliefs and battle doctrine to Night Lords. Often have a black and white morality. Focus on shock and fear tactics combined with stealth. Preferred tactic is to brutally and horrifically annihilate the target population (be they enemy or civilian), but leave a few survivors to go tell everyone else about what happened. Physical traits (black eyes, pale skin) similar to both Night Lords and Raven Guard. Dagger-like teeth similar to Kurze's own. Mental mutations and unstable sanity similar to Night Lords. Similarly to Night Lords, the Carcharadons recruit from criminal populations. Their newest lore hints at them being at least one part [[Raven Guard]] successors; specifically the [[Ashen Claws]]: a [[blackshield]] warband that was heavily involved in the fights across the [[Nostramo]] sector during the Heresy, as the Carcharadons share the title for their leader: "Shade Lord". However, the Ashen Claws warband still exists as of [[M41]]. Notably, said Ashen Claws have flatly called the Carcharadons "traitor-born" and of a different breed than themselves or the Raven Guard.
*'''[[Raptors (Chapter)]]''' ([[Night Lords]]) - Speculated, only rumored to be [[Raven Guard]]. Gene-seed more similar to Night Lords. While they suffer the pale skin/black eyes seen in both Raven Guard and Night Lords, unlike the Raven Guard but just like the Night Lords, they have fully functional Betcher's Glands. Their homeworld is near the Eye of Terror, but despite being a well known and active Chapter, their homeworld's name has been "lost", so no one knows what or where it is. The Chapter once blockaded a system, with the entire system's population vanishing. Anyone who attempted to investigate, even members of the Inquisition, also disappeared without a trace. While the Chapter shares it's name with Corvus Corax's attempt at making a [[Primaris Space Marines|Space Marine 2.0]], said attempt ended in complete [[fail|failure]] thanks to [[Alpha Legion]] [[Just As Planned|sabotage]], the mutated products of the program were all killed in battle. However, they also partially share the name with the Night Lords' "Night Raptors" formation....
*'''[[Storm Wardens]]''' ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar preferred battle doctrine and color scheme to pre-Heresy War Hounds (armored assaults combined with close-combat infantry, blue armor with white pauldrons). Records of their origins have been deliberately lost or destroyed. Additionally their homeworld is sanctioned against contacting the rest of the Imperium.
*'''[[Executioners]] & Successors''' ([[World Eaters]]) - Speculated. Similar battle doctrine. Highly similar Chapter culture and behaviors. Iconography made of images minorly associated with the World Eaters (red, axes). Two of their three successor Chapters' names invoke more Khornite associations (Crimson Axes and Skull Bearers). Known for having some of the most brutal close combat methods, even for Astartes. A liking for decorating their armour with the flayed skin of their victims. Lineage questioned by other Imperial Fists successors due to lacking traits associated with the sons of Dorn. Known to be reclusive, only closely associating with their own successor Chapters. This [[Black Templars|isn't exactly unique]] among Imperial Fist successors however, and the HH black books and novels all but state that their unique culture is due to their origins in the VIIth legion's [[Breacher Siege Squad|specialist formations]].
*'''[[Fire Angels]]''' ([[Word Bearers]]) - Speculated. Highly similar behaviors and doctrine. Strict following of whatever rules they are given? Check, they follow the Codex to the letter. Highly Religious? Double check, they make the Black Templars seem like choir boys in their levels of religious zeal. Don't like Guilliman? Check. Their armour colors are even the same as the Word Bearers, just reversed (what the Word Bearers paint red, the Fire Angels paint silver. What the Word Bearers paint silver, they paint red). The combination of all of these traits, along with their Chapter colors) makes them essentially loyalist Word Bearers in all but name, but that's as far as the similarities go. However, they aren't the only highly religious Astartes Chapter, nor are they the only Chapter to adhere so strictly to the Codex (especially among Ultramarines), or the only "Ultramarines" successors to not like Guilliman (see the Mortifactors below). Much like the Executioners, there isn't any evidence hinting that their behavior is the result of genetics and not the cultural changes undergone by the Imperium in 10 000 years, especially considering that they are a Chapter that wasn't founded until very recently. However, much like the Minotaurs, there are noted records hinting that [[Sable Swords|theirs is not the first incarnation]] of the Fire Angels Chapter.
*'''[[Covenant of Fire]]''' ([[Word Bearers]]) - All but confirmed. While officially listed as "Salamanders", the Covenant of Fire are blatently Word Bearers who simply follow the Promethean Cult. Their color scheme and iconography are a near identical match to pre-heresy Word Bearers, and their attitudes and behaviors are a near 1-1 for pre-Heresy Word Bearers. Seems Cawl is getting more and more blatent in using traitor legion geneseed.
*'''[[Sons of Antaeus]]''' ([[Death Guard]]) - Speculated. Similar genetic traits included an unnatural hardy stock.
*'''[[Mortifactors]]''' ([[Death Guard]]) - Speculated. Similar color scheme and iconography to pre-Heresy Death Guard, specialize in night fighting like the Dusk Raiders, similar grim attitude, and have a preference for using Power Scythes (the signature weapon of the Death Guard). This Chapter is also obsessed with death, I mean really obsessed with it. Like the [[Fire Angels]], these guys really do not like their "official" Primarch. Being a [[Second Founding]] Chapter, they could be a prime example of the ''Ultramarine Connection''.
*'''[[Iron Snakes]]''' ([[Alpha Legion]]) - Speculated, officially from [[Ultramarine]] stock. Use combat doctrines and show behaviors extremely similar to the [[Alpha Legion]]. Similar iconography (a single-headed snake instead of a three-headed hydra). The Iron Snakes also have unusually specific design similarities to said [[Alpha Legion]]. Such as their Chapter Master being [[Primarch|taller than usual for an Astartes]], [[Alpharius|conceals his face]], and has been known to [[Omegon|swap identities]]. They also separate their Chapter into independent cells, just like Alpha Legion harrows. Due to being [[Second Founding]], they are also likely an example of the ''Ultramarines Connection''.
*'''[[Angry Marines]]''' ([[World Eaters]]) - They can say whatever they want about [[Rachnus Rageous|who they think their Primarch is]], but the Inquisition still suspects [[Angron]].

==The Ultramarine's Second Founding Connection==
The [[Ultramarines]] are confirmed to have harboured loyalist members of Traitor Legions after the Heresy, rebranding them as their own to obfuscate the newcomer's past (as for why they would do such a thing, [[Roboute Guilliman]] himself is characterized as someone who abhorred the waste of any human life (Astartes or otherwise)). Guilliman also needed all the manpower he could get when he thought the rest of the Imperium was destroyed during the era of [[Imperium Secundus]], so giving even legionnaires from suspect sources a chance to prove themselves was a practical solution, for which in the end he was not disappointed. The penning of the Codex Astartes and the shattering of the Legions into individual Chapters would also have provided the perfect opportunity to separate the loyalist Traitor Legion elements back into separate formations (both to work more as they were intended, and to make it easier to exterminate any of them that decided to betray the Imperium at a later time). Furthermore, it is confirmed that after '''[REDACTED]''' that led to the deaths of the Missing Primarchs happened, the Astartes of the II and XI Legions were mind-wiped by Malcador the Sigilite into thinking they had always been part of the Ultramarines and Imperial Fists, as to not waste useful Astartes assets. This act was backed up by Dorn and Guilliman voluntarily agreeing to have their memories of what really happened suppressed beyond even a Primarch's ability to recall. Dorn would later have this mental block partially lifted, making it likely Guilliman did the same. So, the speculation regarding the [[Valedictors]] and the [[Rainbow Warriors]] being lost legion loyalists might have some truth to it after all.

Of the Chapters listed above, the Chapters that are suspected of this connection are:

*'''[[Silver Skulls]]''' - [[Iron Warriors]]
*'''[[Mortifactors]]''' - [[Death Guard]]
*'''[[Iron Snakes]]''' - [[Alpha Legion]]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category: Chaos]]

==Sources==

'''Forge World Horus Heresy Rulebooks'''
*''Betrayal''
*''Retribution''

'''Horus Heresy Novels'''
*''Flight of the Eisenstein''
*''Pharos''
*''Vengeful Spirit''
*''Corax''
** ''Weregeld''

'''Other'''
*How to Paint Space Marines, pg. 86
*Apocalypse by Josh Reynolds

Space Sharks

2020-11-01T03:01:07Z

2601:204:D601:3A90:793B:C7D7:411D:4693: /* Gene-Seed Speculation */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Sharks/Carcharodon Astra
|Heraldry = [[Image:Carcharodons Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Number =
|Battle Cry = "From the void we come - darkness there, and nothing more" Alternatively: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrB2_zqJQJU] sometimes [https://youtu.be/lV8i-pSVMaQ?t=37 this] can be heard being hummed by chaplains in high gothic and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hRHodkDGE "this"] can be heard as the warcry for the scout company
|Founding = Either 2nd (according to a GW article) or 23rd (according to FFG) Basically '''Unknown'''
|Successors of = [[Raven Guard]], but possibly chimeric ([[Night Lords]], [[ World Eaters]], etc. )
|Successor Chapters = None (thankfully)
|Chapter Master = [[Tyberos the Red Wake]]
|Primarch = [[Corvus Corax]], if chimeric then [[Konrad Curze|Curze]], [[Angron]], all of them...(definitely not jaws or his sons)
|Homeworld = Fleet Based
|Specialty = Think of the [[Night Lords]] and [[Raven Guard]] doctrine, but added with planetery and Chain Axe rape.
|Strength = 1000 (ish)
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Grey, with black pauldrons and white helmet faces (and the occasional blood splatter)
}}
[[File:B5oUxpr.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what [[furry|some]] heretics believe the Space Sharks look like]]
[[File:Sharks Bitch!.jpg|200px|thumb|left|This is what they [[Awesome|really look like]]. Yes, we assure you that they are good guys. Maybe.]]

{{topquote|He could sense the Company Master's fury, the rage he was battling to keep in check. The Blindness was beckoning to him, that precipice poised above a black sea of hatred and needless slaughter-sacrifice.|Chief Librarian Te Kahurangi's assessment of 3rd Captain Akia}}

{{topquote|Y'know, the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn’t seem to be livin’… until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’ they all come in and… they rip you to pieces.| Ned Quint, ''Jaws''}}

The Carcharodons (High Gothic ''Carcharodon Astra'', low Gothic ''Space Sharks'') are a Loyalist [[Space Marine]] Chapter of unknown heritage. Little is known about them, aside from the fact that they usually appear amidst campaigns quietly and unannounced, and respond to threats with surprising ruthlessness and brutality. They are noted to use much older (and very patched-up) Heresy-era armor and weaponry (in ''Red Tithe'' a squad carries around a [[volkite]] caliver, an ''extremely'' rare piece of tech in the 41st millennium, and their 3rd Company captain wears a suit of Mark III armour that bears an insignia indicating participation in the [[Unification Wars|Terran Pacification War]] (their "first battle honour"), and in battle seem to be utterly silent, even when visiting bloody murder on their foes (just like the Sons of Malice, coincidence?).

Very old records say they were sent out on a crusade outside the borders of Imperium-controlled space, for all intents and purposes, to preemptively kill anything that may or may not be a future threat to the Imperium of Man. And to our best knowledge, they were promptly forgotten about, because when they showed up again, no one knew who the hell they were or what side they were on.

The Carcharodons "officially" return to the Imperial consciousness during the [[Badab War]], where it's kinda hinted that they're [[Raven Guard]] mutants or descended from those other deranged genocidal space marines - the [[Night Lords]]. Siding with the Loyalists in the conflict, the Chapter descended in strength upon the worlds of the [[Mantis Warriors]], and it is in this phase of the campaign that the Chapter's reputation for bloody violence was made known. With the Mantis Warriors forced to surrender, the Chapter was then set upon [[Badab]] itself. There they helped conclusively secure victory for the Imperials -- by detonating the reactors of the primary hives on the planet. The resultant tectonic upheavals eventually destroyed Badab, and to this day the [[Star Phantoms]] pin the blame on the Sharks for the losses they experienced in the hurried evacuation that followed, but the war was officially won.

For its troubles, the Chapter returned to the Endymion Cluster one last time, ransacked the fortresses of the Mantis Warriors for materiel and their worlds for recruits, and quietly returned to the darkness of the galactic plane where it originally came from.

Their leader is [[Tyberos the Red Wake]], a badass motherfucker who couldn't decide if he liked lightning claws or chainfists better, so he made (or took from the Ashen Claws, as Outer Dark hints) ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'', a pair of Lightning Chainclaws... the ugly offspring of the two weapons after a couple glasses of Black Label and a night of extremely violent and questionable life choices, that allow him to one shot (swipe? stab?) Tyranid Carnifexes and Space Marine Dreadnoughts. This would usually make [[Marneus Calgar|anyone else]] a [[Mary Sue]], but this guy is so badass (and has the most [[awesome]] weapons in the setting), that he has earned immunity (so long as he doesn’t [[Roboute Guilliman|punch guys in space without wearing a helmet]]). Though very quiet in the way of formal encounters, Tyberos, when war ensues, becomes something that nightmares piss themselves to think about. During the Badab War, Tyberos wrote a name for himself and his chapter across the surface of the planet in the blood of the Mantis Warriors. Clad in a set of ancient [[Terminator]] Armour, Tyberos was always on the front lines, and ensured that the traitors paid for all the trouble they caused in blood and resources, going about this task in the grimly silent fashion known to be common to the Carcharodons.

==Organization and History==
[[File:Space Shark Mk5.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Space Shark in Mark 5 "Heresy" armour.]]
The Sharks are a fleet-based chapter. At some point in their history, Rangu (their word for the Emperor) or the Forgotten One (either the Primarch of the origin legion or the Founding Chapter Master) banished/self-exiled them from their home world and set them to hunt amongst the stars and slaughter the enemies of the Imperium with no quarter. To this day, no one knows why they were banished. To this end, they were granted the rite of Tithe; the Grey, all the physical material they needed for their duty, and the Red, a claim to prisoners, rebels, rejects, and other detritus for ship crew and potential recruits. They are explicitly forbidden from taking serving members of the Adeptus Terra (read - anyone from any other branch of the Imperium) in their tithing. The Grey Tithe is usually a semi-regular swap meet with allied members of the Mechanicum, bartering a few pieces of archeotech for freshly made materiel.

Another chapter wide trait is an intentional lack of ego and individuality. Every new Carcharodon recruit is stripped of their original name and given a new one derived from the chapter's history, along with a numerical designation. Each battle brother is only a part of the utility of the whole, leading Carcharodon command to eschew concepts like honour and pride-driven vengeance that drive other chapters to action. Only by following their ancient mandate of exile can they be worthy. They hope their actions (or more likely their descendants' actions) will redeem them for their crimes and allow them to return home, wherever that might originally be. Most chapter veterans don't believe this and channel their shame and remorse into meticulously violent murder. This also ties into their nomadic nature, as they can't risk wasting time and resources on badly thought out plans.

The Carcharodons follow the battle half of the [[Codex]] Astartes, but ignore everything else about force organisation. Cruising around in the void beyond the galaxy's edge can be nasty business, and years without resupply or any kind of logistical support means they must be both flexible and resourceful. Each company practices high self-reliance - salvaging, repairing and re-purposing stuff to make sure it lasts as long as possible. This is why they sport so much working Heresy-era gear and why stuff like vehicles and Terminator armour are often kept together using a variety of patterns and models. Because of this, [[Techmarine]]s are seldom seen on the battlefield. They also don't use reserve companies. Each company is thought to be a self-contained force, with their own scouts and veterans, ensuring they've got guys for every situation on hand. This has drawbacks of course, as they can't simply ask for reinforcements from a reserve company and must make do; for this reason Apothecaries are prized and kept off the front lines since every Marine makes a difference. At the same time it means that they've got all their companies actively doing stuff.

It seems likely that their scorched earth campaign during the Badab War was in fact more of a violent [[Looted|looting]] spree, restocking the Carcharodons' inventory after having spent so long outside known space. Filling up on ammo, weapons, armor, supplies, and [[Blood_Ravens|grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down, followed by the nails, and then everything that used to be nailed down]], before destroying anything else the enemy could possibly have had a use for. We do know that they claimed a bunch of recruits post-Badab, and they probably do this after all their big campaigns (maybe every time they come back into contact with the Imperium). The ''Red Tithe'' novel appears to confirm this theory; the Carcharodons' 3rd Company, having just come off a nasty brawl with some [[Tyranids]], rocked up to a remote Imperial prison planet with the intent of claiming all of its inmates as either serfs or potential recruits. A [[Night Lords]] warband had the same idea and arrived just before they did; the two groups proceeded to have a slight disagreement about who was going to empty out this wretched hive of scum and villainy. After several rounds of murder tag (and several thousand casualties later), the Carcharodons were victorious. They scooped up all the prisoners, stripped the place bare, and took off before Imperial reinforcements could arrive.

The Imperium at large is mostly unaware of their existence, and even the [[Inquisition]] seems to have only limited information about them. The Sharks' complete lack of glory-seeking behavior doesn't help with this; for example, a badly depleted company of Blood Angels were relieved by a Carcharodons attack force during the Seventh Black Crusade, during which Sharks managed to impress/concern Papa Sang's sons by being even more batshit-crazy murderous in assault than the Angels were. When the dust settled, the Blood Angels were given a fancy memorial (and got a whole spaceport named after them) but the Space Sharks went unremembered, save for a few crumbling statues in a forgotten corner with blank obsidian disks for faces. Isolated parts of the Mechanicus are aware of them, partly because of the Grey Tithe, but this is implied to be because they are hoarding the relics the Carcharodons retrieve for themselves, rather than returning them to the Mechanicum proper. Which is what the Mechanicus brass (pun!) would have done anyway so whatever.

A few members of the Inquisition have naturally raised concerns about this apparently undocumented force of Astartes just wandering around the galaxy with a predilection for wholesale slaughter and leaving very few survivors on either side when they're done. As an example from ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'', in order to force a Genestealer cult out into the open on a Shrine World, the Carcharodons gave the order to shut down every temple and pilgrimage site on the planet, knowing that this would cause mass civil unrest and thus force the cult to move ahead with their plans prematurely. [[Just as planned|It ended up totally working]] and disrupting the imminent Tyranid invasion, but it also turned out that there were so many cultists on the planet that the Carcharodons decided "fuck it, the Emperor can sort them out" and promptly started just killing everyone at hand with the help of some Ashen Claws renegade Marines they'd invited along for the ride. There was only one survivor left from the ensuing chaos afterwards: an inquisitorial aide who had also been the sole survivor of the events of ''Red Tithe'' and had now witnessed a) a Space Marine force of questionable loyalty slaughtering a planet's population wholesale, b) while being allied with genuinely renegade space marines, and c) had also seen a Carcharodons Librarian apparently being partly bonded to a daemon that had been haunting her too. Loyalist chapters have been exterminated for far less. Well, not really. The slaughter was justified and usually the Imperium would have used Exterminatus in that situation instead of killing everyone conventionally. Ironically this means they “saved” the planet.

==Gene-Seed Speculation==
[[File:Space Shark Tau.jpeg|right|thumb|''FFFFFUCKING WEEB!'']]
Initially, many fa/tg/uys speculated that the Carcharodons were of Raven Guard or Night Lord descent, or possibly a loyalist remnant. A minority also speculated that they might be World Eater remnants, though since that seems to be the old [[Minotaurs]]' schtick it's probably not true. Moreover, given that they are believed to have been founded by M32 and most of their wargear appears to be Heresy-era, they are most likely of the [[Second Founding]] or a product of the Heresy.

Most of the evidence for these theories is based on their military tactics and the few descriptions we had of marines outside of their armour. Socially, a lot of their imagery, language, and chapter culture has Polynesian influences, which don't map onto any existing legion's background and, owing to their recruiting practices, are not tied to a known world.

Their favoured tactics, relying heavily on stealth and surprise, would seem to fall in line with the Raven Guard's combat doctrines, at least on a strategic level, where they appear suddenly into whatever battlezone they are targeting without warning. However on a tactical level, they are comparatively unsubtle ; their preference for close-combat, total slaughter, and the strategic use of terror put them at odds with the "tacticool operator" style of the modern Raven Guard. Their method of war is closer to the pre-Heresy Night Lords, if substantially higher in body count, or the World Eaters, if they were a little more subtle. To give an example, they appeared above a shrine world and immediately took command despite the mass unrest such an action caused. They then forcibly shut down the shrines the world was famous for, thus provoking a miniature rebellion and coaxing the genestealer cult out of hiding. So whilst they have subtle overarching goals, they are merciless in their methods.

Physically, the Carcharodons displayed pale white skin and black eyes with black sclera. These were common traits of people living upon Lycaeus and Nostramo, the homeworlds of Corvus Corax and Konrad Curze, respectively. While the modern Raven Guard exhibit these traits as a result of mutations within their gene-seed, ''[[Imperial Armour#Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two|Imperial Armour]]'' states that the Space Shark's gene-seed is unusually pure, i.e. stable, and that these traits are unlikely to be the result of mutation. However, their Chief Librarian has toothy denticle growths on his elbows and around his neck which comes from a "degraded genetic inheritance" which essentially gives him sharkskin. This condition affects the entire chapter, but is much more common on older Carcharodons. They also suffer from something they call the "the Blindness", a condition that can make them lose all control during combat to the extent they may even attack their own.

This makes their appearance all the more unusual, as the Carcharodons are known to take recruits from the worlds they conquer, meaning there is no common genetic source that could explain their development other than through their gene-seed. Interestingly, the Chief Librarian also seems to make a note of the 3rd Captain's particular genetic heritage, as if it were somehow significant. It may very well be that the Carcharodons have more than one gene-seed source; Corvus Corax was noted for his snow-white skin, and Konrad Curze for his black eyes.

The Short Version: Official fluff presents their origins as being ambiguous, even to the point of mutual contradiction within the same story. Both Raven Guard-offshoots and Night Lords believe they are related, whilst they retain a lot of World Eater style equipment and tactics. Said Raven Guard offshoots even suggested that they could also be related to the World Eaters, although this might have been figurative. As with a lot of GW fluff, it's unlikely to get explained.

===Excerpts from Red Tithe and Outer Dark===
Red Tithe: (context: a Night Lord is observing the similarities between his legion and the Carcharadons. Also a daemon says that the Carcharadons are the lost brothers of the Night Lords)
"These Loyalists were different from the ones he’d outwitted in the past. None of his Claw leaders
reported having ever encountered them before. Even Shadraith was seemingly without answers,
practically abandoned by his pathetic daemonic patron. Their fighting style was not one Cull
recognised. '''If anything, it seemed eerily like the Night Lords’ own doctrines.'''"

...

"Cull was beginning to understand why his Claws had struggled. These loyalists were unlike any he’d
encountered before. '''They bore a curious resemblance to the Night Lords themselves''', but where the
VIII Legion delighted in the terror they caused, these grey killers seemed to be without any emotions
at all. "

...

"''Beneath the surface'', Bar’ghul said. The daemon’s voice was distant, as though carried on a faint
night wind. ''Others are coming to claim him. They must not succeed.''
‘Others?’
''The Hunters in the Void.'' '''Your lost brothers.'''
‘That means nothing to me. Do not speak in your senseless riddles, daemon.’"

Outer Dark: (context, the Carcharadons and the Ashen Claws are negotiating for the Carcharadons to hand over some Raven Guard geneseed they had collected. The Ashen Claws even outright call the Carcharadons a different breed from the Raven Guard and traitor-born.)

"‘Enough of this,’ barked one of the other Space Marines at the high table, rising
so fast that his chair clattered back. ‘This '''traitor-born scum''' has gone too far!’
‘Sit down, Brother Tanthius,’ snapped a voice."

...

"‘We bring more than just bolters and power armour,’ he said. ‘We bring the
genetic legacy of '''your ancestors'''. Not much, for we have little enough to spare as
it is. But it is pure.’
‘You have not contaminated it with '''your disgusting breed'''?’ Nev demanded."
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
===TL;DR===
'''The first mention of the Carcharodons says that their gene-seed might be Raven Guard''', but doesn't expand on that. Given that this was during the time that the [[Blood Ravens]] were really in the popular vogue (as they still are to this very day), the idea that the Carcharodons are secretly Loyalist Traitors was pretty popular because their tactics are more like the Night Lords than anyone else's. GW has tried to walk it back a bit by saying the Raven Guard were basically the Night Lords only with Corax instead of Curze since then, but the debate still rages on because most of the documents supporting the Raven Guard hypothesis are speculative in-universe, and the Imperium would probably cover up a loyal Chapter being descended from Traitors if the Blood Ravens are anything to go by.

Horus Heresy III: Extermination suggests they're the descendants of Terran-born Raven Guard exiles led by Shade Lord Arkhas Fal, the grey armoured and white-faced pre-Corax XIXth Legion who had a reputation for going from stillness to extreme brutality and were basically taken under Horus Lupercal's wing in the centuries before their own Primarch was discovered. The exiles are referred to as a "nomad predation fleet" the same as the Carcharodons in the Badab War books and their cognomen during the early Great Crusade era was "Pale Nomads", a title given to them by the Luna Wolves and also the title of Te Kahurangi, the Chapter's current chief librarian, rumoured to be only three generations removed from the original exiles. The Reaper Prime (Captain) of the Third Battle Company wears armour bearing the skull and lightning bolts of the Terran Pacification War further highlighting the Chapter's links to the pre-Crusade Legions, and Tyberos' distinctive shark-like helmet is also featured in the book. In Horus Heresy 6 however they raid the Night Lords for supplies, which includes gene-seed (which would make them chimeric if they tried to use it) and in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novels ''Red Tithe'' and ''Outer Dark'' (the only books we have dedicated to our jawesome friends) it outright states that the Space Sharks are a chimeric combination of Raven Guard and Night Lord gene-seed, so the debate rages on.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

===Raven Guard===
Following the publication of ''Imperial Armour 10'', new evidence was published to support the Raven Guard theory by Games Workshop's licensors. Presumably the idea that every Traitor Legion has a secret Loyalist Successor was too much for them.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]]' ''[[Deathwatch]] RPG'' included rules for playing the Carcharodons ('''Honour the Chapter'''). Among the fluff, it is stated that Deathwatch Apothecaries have occasionally had the chance to analyze the gene-seed of Carcharodons slain in the service of the Deathwatch, and that they bear certain genetic markers unique to the Raven Guard. Of course, this being the Imperium of Man, you can never be certain what they're actually finding or if the records are accurate.

Forgeworld's ''[[Horus Heresy]] Book 3'' included a bunch of new information on the Raven Guard, and their predecessor [[First Founding|Legion]], the '''Pale Nomads'''. The Pale Nomads were noted for being the Emperor's preferred operators, often stealthing their way into enemy fortresses and armies to slay their leaders should they refuse surrender, and adopting multi-angle strike-and-fade tactics if the enemy continued to fight on. The latter is a favored tactic of the Carcharodons on the battlefield. The Pale Nomads were known for crushing any hint of resistance, which some have equated to the Space Sharks decimating entire star systems in order to sow terror. Their tactics evidenced a disdain for humans that the Raven Lord couldn't stomach, which is similar to the attitude adopted by the Space Sharks during the Badab War when they Exterminatus'd Badab and hundreds of Loyalist Space Marines along with it. The Pale Nomads were also slavers who would take children from defeated worlds to raise as Legionnaires, a practice that the Space Sharks have adopted. The Xeric tribesmen from which the Pale Nomads recruited also had a tradition of tattooing their bodies and painting their armor with tribal markings.

This could possibly explain why the Space Sharks have an abundance of [[Beakie|MkVI armor]] alongside their other Heresy-era tech, since the Raven Guard were the first to get their hands on them when they entered production during the Horus Heresy and that they're unusually stealthy with a variety of sensory systems to assist them in the void of space. Additionally, the Raven Guard were revealed to suffer from a gene-seed defect known as the ''Ash Blind'' or ''Sable Brand''. Similar to the ''Black Rage'', this defect caused otherwise normal Space Marines to charge into battle seeking only to destroy all trace of their foes, whether they lived or died. Those afflicted would develop eyes of solid black, and would neither speak nor reason until the condition passed. This sounds pretty similar to the Blindness that afflicts the Carcharodons.

Finally, it is stated that Corax would divest the Raven Guard of the surviving Terran-born Pale Nomads, whom he found too similar to the cruel lords he overthrew on [[Deliverance]]. One of the many branches of Raven Guard he sent off on isolated, never-ending crusades contained the [[Battle Barge]] '''Nicor''', (an old English word for a water sprite or monster) later to be found in the fleet of Space Sharks who ended the Badab War.

Tellingly, in '''Horus Heresy book 3''', Corax had no idea what happened to the fleet of Terran Exiles or to its master Arkhas Fal and made no effort to contact them in the build-up prior to the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. There is no evidence that these exiles were recalled after the massacre either, despite the 4000 men "officially" counting towards about half of the size of the remaining Legion, so they were considered an entirely separate force. They could simply have been designated a new Chapter following the end of the civil war.

According to the ''Carcharodons: Outer Dark'' novel, the descendant Marines of the exiles, still calling themselves the Ashen Claws, have settled on the planet Atargatis Prime, beyond the Ghoul Stars region. Only a few people, including the Space Sharks, know of their existence. When times are desperate, the Space Sharks will trade war machines and gene-seed for the Ashen Claws' aspirants and neophytes. It also turns out that Tyberos's kickass lightning-claw-chainfists once belonged to the Ashen Claws, but the Carcharodons apparently [[Blood Ravens|acquired them in an underhanded fashion]], and the Claws are still pretty butthurt about it.

===Loyalist Traitors===
[[File:Space Shark Chainaxe.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|[[Rip and Tear]] at its finest.]]

Contradicting the Raven Guard theory are some logical inconsistencies, the issue of their battle tactics, and recently published material from '''Horus Heresy Book 6''' where it is revealed that the above-mentioned 4000 Terrans exiled by Corvax from the Raven Guard turned full renegade, calling themselves the '''Ashen Claws''' and abandoning the Imperium to build their own domain in the Segmentum Tempestus. With no contact from the Imperium, no support from the Emperor, and no reward for their loyalty, it seems likely that other Raven Guard exiles could have turned. Interestingly, this band of exiles raided the fortress worlds of the Night Lords for supplies before returning to the darkness beyond the Imperium.

The fact that the Carcharodons adhere to a known pattern of crusading behavior, the "Nomad-Predation Pattern," would seem to indicate that their "recruiting" practices aren't unique to any Legion or Chapter, but an established Space Marine tactic for dealing with long crusades beyond the supply lines of the Imperium. Rather than being a relic of Xeric nomads recruited by the Emperor, it seems likely that the Space Sharks are only unique in that they utilize this pattern exclusively, obeying the order to "ravage the foes of Mankind" in the darkness beyond the galactic plane. It also points to them either being formed prior to the implementation of the [[Codex Astartes]] or an utter disregard for it.

If the Space Sharks were founded during the Second Founding, you'd expect them to have roughly equal portions of their gear granted to them from their original Legion, and thus have higher proportions of more "modern" gear such as mark VI ''(Corvus)'' & VII ''(Aquila)'' plate, yet it is older mark V ''(Heresy)'' plate alongside Phobos pattern boltguns which predominantly fill the ranks. This points to the Space Sharks resupplying during the throes of the Heresy and their access to more recent patterns of wargear have come from salvaged or reclaimed equipment gathered over the years. Even their revered Terminator suits seem to be modified in unorthodox ways just to keep them operational. If they descend from any other Primarch, especially considering their tactics and manner of deployment, it's possible that they simply salvaged ''Nicor'' and other wargear from some distant and bloody battlefield.

The Space Sharks' preferred tactics are bloody and brutal, far more so than expected from any pre-Heresy Space Marine Legion besides the Night Lords and the World Eaters, although the information about the Raven Guard pre-Corax does resolve this inconsistency to an extent. During the Badab War they had no qualms about using the extermination of worlds and entire systems loyal to the [[Mantis Warriors]] to draw them into battle by the scale of their horror, and they would use the shattered survivors of their bloody attacks to demoralize and weaken rebel forces.

The history, as known, of the Space Sharks points to their being present during the Second Founding. Whether the Raven Guard exiles were recalled or returned on their own, or if they were a Loyalist remnant of the Night Lords, or more unlikely the World Eaters, and were given the chance to forge a new life and history, it seems odd that they would've been dispatched to such distant battlefields if they weren't regarded with mistrust by the High Lords of Terra. And assuming they possessed a reputation for such brutality that "ravage" is a more appropriate word for their orders than "harry" or "destroy," they should be descended from a Legion or portion of a Legion with a particularly bloody reputation.

Amusingly, the same ''Honour The Chapter'' splatbook that posits that the Carcharodons are descended from the Raven Guard also says they are of the 23rd Founding, descended from the Eagle Warriors. And the Chapter immediately preceding them in the splatbook, the [[Raptors|Reasonable Marines]], are definitively stated to be a Second Founding descendant of the Raven Guard. While the Raptors skin grows translucent and their hair grows darker as they age, the Space Sharks gain gray, shark-like skin and their hair turns whiter as they age. In addition, the Carcharodons by implication have a fully-functioning set of gene-seed organs, unlike the Raven Guard and Raptors who lack functioning Mucranoid and/or Betcher's Glands, as do other Raven Guard Successors.

====Night Lords====
The Carcharodons' deliverance of bloody and total judgment upon the followers of the rebellious Badab Chapters is in line with the [[Night Lords]]' pre-Curze and pre-Heresy role and attitudes towards those who failed the Emperor in loyalty or deed. Brutal purges of the disloyal would build into a reputation that became one of terror and bloody death under Konrad Curze, and his use of fear and fluid, almost wild maneuvers in battle are seen by some in the descriptions of the Space Shark's battles.

The Space Sharks' apparently fractious nature and their manner of giving personal titles of distinction and honor could be echoes of the Night Lords' practices as well. Many commanders and captains would have personal honorifics, like Zso Sahaal, who would either earn idiosyncratic titles or have lurid and unique ranks within the Legion's organizational structure. Likewise, ''The Red Wake'' could be an honorific specific to the Chapter Master or a personal one. As the Night Lords were grouped into semi-independent Companies with individual names, traditions, and markings, it's possible the Carcharodons could be one such Company that rejected the Heresy or returned to the Emperor's light. It would also explain why their forces never seem to gather in full Chapter strength; having passed down this tradition of building brotherhood solely within small, tribal bands like the gangs of Nostramo and fighting in semi-independent units as preferred by the Night Haunter, they would see little reason to fight together while other conflicts and enemies require their notice.

The Chapter's preference for close-combat is in stark contrast to the Raven Guard's preference for long-ranged and quick-moving strikes, especially as they prefer stealth and speed to the roar of assault jetpacks and jetbikes. However, these tactics were favored by the Night Lords and their Terror Squads. Indeed, the enforced silence and refusal to coordinate with Imperial forces of the Space Sharks is similar to the silence that Terror Squads would work with during the latter years of the Great Crusade. Rather than being a gene-seed curse, as with the Raven Guard, the Carcharodons simply isolate their vox nets and refuse to speak to anyone unless it is truly urgent and necessary.

As with the Space Sharks, the Night Lords were infamous for stealing the youth of conquered worlds for rapid implantation and hypno-indoctrination. While the former could also be a hallmark of the Nomad-Predation deployment pattern, the latter is a practice that seems to have been preferred by the Night Lords since it was the fastest and quickest way to make a new, battle-ready Space Marine in spite of the risks of instability and insanity it engendered.

Sharks are also ghostly, nocturnal predators, [[Konrad Curze|night haunters]] if you will, so there's that.

====World Eaters====
Yet another possibility maybe [[World Eaters]], since Space Sharks are silent and brooding outside of battle but go absolutely batshit crazy when ''in'' battle, no questions asked, and they seem to have a preference for chain-axes, which is somewhat unusual among Loyalist Space Marines. The love of chain weapons is carried over in a few other ways; one marine has what can only be described as a chain-club / staff - with an enormous flat chain blade running up one edge and handles on the opposite side at either end (potentially doubling as a very heavy duty eviscerator). Their predilection for close-combat and bloody melee, to an even greater degree than the Space Wolves, would be in keeping with the attitudes of the World Eaters and the War Hounds. Like the World Eaters, the Space Sharks have a preference for Drop Pod assaults, fast vehicles like Land Speeders, and Assault Terminators, and it can be argued that Tyberos's Terminator bodyguards, the ''Red Brethren'', are reminiscent of Angron's own Terminator posse, the ''Devourers''. Some of their ships also possess Ursus Claws, which only World Eaters used (but then again, it could just be a salvaged ship).

The main problem with this theory is the Butcher's Nails. We can assume one of two things when it comes to the Nails:
#The Space Sharks learned to control their urges outside of battle, lest they snap and massacre each other since they're out in the void of space for long periods of time doing nothing.
#Or they could have simply phased them out of their recruitment process after the Horus Heresy, seeing as it drove the other World Eaters fucking bonkers and was detrimental in the long run.

And whilst there were very few loyalist Night Lords (only two examples in the canon thus far), there are canonically loyalist World Eaters, both at Istvaan III and scattered around the Imperium during the Heresy.

====Chimeric Geneseed====
As another wrench is thrown in, in Robbie MacNiven's Black Library novel ''Red Tithe'', it is heavily hinted that there are, in fact, ''multiple'' gene seeds utilized by the Space Sharks, primarily Raven Guard, Night Lords, and World Eaters. Given the typical canon conflicts that the Black Library is known for, this should be looked at with skepticism at least and as a half-assed excuse to explain why they have traits of all three Legions at best. Hopefully, this will be elaborated on in the future but for now, we can only theorize what this entails.

It is possible that the Carcharodons once consisted of Blackshields of Raven Guard and both loyalist Night Lords and World Eaters during the Horus Heresy, and after a time they were reformed into their own chapter and the traitor aspects of their origins were buried away. This ''could'' explain why their combat doctrine is an odd hybrid of their three supposed predecessors, any mutations they have are hard to connect to anyone Legion, why their equipment is so old and haphazard, and why they were sent out in the void of space due to their origins. Until we have hard evidence from Forge World itself on any such Blackshields, however, this is up in the air.

Another, simpler explanation is that, given the nature of the Space Sharks to scavenge whatever they find, it's possible that they harvested the gene-seed of the fallen marines they have killed. It's never explicitly said that their gene-seed is comprised of ''only'' the three suspected Legions; rather, it just happened to just be mostly the aforementioned three. For all we know they could trace back to every Legion through a small percentage of their gene-seed. Though admittedly, this train of thought makes their origin even harder to pinpoint as we don't have a clear-cut predecessor.

And it should be kept in mind that a good chunk of this information in the novel was divulged to one of the Space Sharks by a daemon. ''A daemon,'' for shit's sake. As we've seen with [[Magnus]], Chaos usually doesn't give accurate information.

This said, this is practically confirmed in HH6, where the Ashen Claws (Raven Guard) raid the Nostromo Sector to take their gear and Genesee. So if the Carcharodons are the Ashen Claws or a related group/successor, then they're Raven Guard and Night Lords. As of the novel ''Outer Dark,'' sequel to ''Red Tithe,'' it has been confirmed that the Carcharodons are related to the Ashen Claws and have a shaky pact with them. When the Carcharodons' Red Tithes can't refill their ranks fast enough, they are permitted to conscript young boys for augmentation from the fragmented domains that the Ashen Claws hid in beyond the Imperium's borders in exchange for war material and fresh Corax-derived gene-seed. It also seems their relationship is a shaky one prone to conflict. This suggests that the Carcharodons origins may lie with the Raven Guard exiles but the two groups split over whether to remain loyal to the Emperor or not. Regardless, both are willing to secretly come together against threats from beyond such as the [[Tyranids]]. When exchanging gene-seed and wargear for aspirants and fleet support, however, the Ashen Claws make a point of confirming whether the gene-seed being offered had been "contaminated with their disgusting breed", implying either widespread degeneration and mutation, or chimeric gene-seed among the Carcharodons.
Given how things were during the heresy, it's perfectly reasonable that there's some gene-seed from the Nostramo campaign in there, as well as some "loyalists" who joined up as Blackshields, seeing as they spent the Heresy as an independent force at the edges of the Imperium.
</div></div>

==Daily Rituals==
04:00 Wake Up - The Space Sharks emerge from their tanks. Before leaving, they make sure to feed their pet sharks.

05:00 Morning Prayer - The Space Sharks pra(e)y that the Emperor give them plenty of enemies to kill. The Chaplains do not speak during the service, merely gesture angrily. Any Marine who prays to be turned into a shark is forced to fight a real shark while bound.

06:00 Morning Firing Rites - The Space Sharks engage in ranged combat. The bolters are discarded within five minutes and the sharks charge into melee. Chapter serfs who often come to clean up afterwards are shocked to see chainswords, powerswords, knives, hammers, axes, and the occasional bite mark in the target dummies. Most of the dummies appear to be fish shaped. Blasting enemies point blank with a Bolt Pistol to also hit the guy behind him while gutting a third is heavily favored.

08:00 Morning Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice combat maneuvers. Most training focuses on underwater combat. Eating the enemy is a heavily encouraged tactic.

10:00 Morning Meal - The Space Sharks consume a light meal consisting of a barrel of live fish. The marine who eats the fastest gets to hold the chapter relic: a shark tooth.

11:00 Tactical Indoctrination - The Space Sharks learn what is friend and what is food. They must constantly be told that [[Ultramarines|bluberries]] are not food, but friends. They also learn to brutally eviscerate tanks and other armored structures. The viewing of Jaws is sometimes allowed for educational purposes.

13:00 Afternoon Meal - The Space Sharks collectively attack a Catachan Devil. The use of ranged weapons is forbidden, and the battle brother who rips the tail off gets to eat the first bite. Generally, it will be eaten shortly after death.

15:00 Afternoon Battle Practice - The Space Sharks practice fighting against land enemies. Pulverizing [[Dark Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] with Power Fists and Hammers is heavily encouraged. Battle Brothers who get bored may target [[Orks]] and Cultists.

16:00 Afternoon Firing Rites - The Space Sharks fire upon cut outs of Shark Hunters and surfers. This time, the Chapter Serfs find few bolter casings and instead find bite marks.

17:00 Evening Meal - The Space Sharks consume a live Squiggoth. As per tradition, only the use of Rusty kitchen utensils, glass, rocks, and hammers is permitted. Stabbing at the eye is heavily encouraged.

19:00 Evening Preyer - The Space Sharks gather to worship and give thanks to the Void Father. Once a month, the Space Sharks celebrate communion by drinking fish oil and eating surfboards.

20:00 Free Time - The Space Sharks are permitted to engage in recreational activities. Playing with and feeding pet sharks in encouraged, whilst watching "Sharknado" and other comedies is another popular activity. If they've been especially good, marines may be allowed the privelge of feeding the megalodon that lives in the aquarium behind the Nicor's bridge with captured heretics and xenos.

23:00 Sleep Time - The Space Sharks are sent back to their tanks for rest.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
Carcharodons Chapter tactics gives all Space Marines models Fear, and allows Tactical marines to replace their bolters with a chainsword or keep it and buy an additional close combat weapon for 1pt each. In addition they gain Rage after destroying or forcing an infantry unit to fallback in close combat, however they must consolidate towards the nearest unit they can hurt (after all, [[Khorne|the rape train]] [[Meme|has no brakes!]]). This can make stuff like Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines, or even bikes surprisingly dangerous. Even a full batch of 10 footslogging Tacticals with extra CC weapons can be a pretty scary thing to face up against. Also, Dreadnoughts with Fear and Rage? Yes please.

Tyberos, their beloved Chapter Master, is quite the beast. He can destroy just about anything in the game in close combat. His Scent of Blood rule makes him and and any Carcharodon unit subject to Rage +1 strength for the rest of the game. He is [[Reasonable Marines|reasonable]] enough to wear a helmet and does not carry a banner and a shitton of flashy trinkets on his armour, unlike most other chapter masters, whose wargear just screams "Shoot me down, sniper!" Also, allows you to take a unit of lightning claw equipped assault terminators as troops; and he and any unit he joins have preferred enemy (infantry).

You can only ally with Imperial Forces and all of those are bumped down to Desperate Allies. All this means that, with them, you play Horus Heresy World Eaters with Fear and all the shiny new toys of the 40k arsenal of Space Marines.

They also have a couple of unique psyker powers:
:"From The Depths": The librarian casting this causes his targets to become intensely frightened, hallucinating about being in the deep dark depths of the ocean, immobilizing their opponent so that the Carcharodons can finish the target without a fight.
:"Rending Maw": The librarian summons a giant spirit shark that comes up out of the ground and bites the shit out of anyone unlucky enough to be there at the time.

===8th Edition===
[[File:Tyberos Red Wake Joseph Geddings.png|thumb|left|250px|"''There is no safety word.''" - Tyberos, the 'Red Wake']]
Currently, the only Carcharodons-specific thing in the game is Tyberos, in the Forge World Imperial Armour book. This go around he's got a standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} profile (which means he's been upgraded to the same 4++ the others have) with an extra Attack and one less Ballistic Skill (which doesn't matter as he has no guns). Wargear-wise, ''Hunger'' and ''Slake'' are now unique weapons - a chainfist and lightning claw equivalent respectively, except ''Hunger'' has +1 Damage and ''Slake'' has +1 Damage and -1AP. In special rules terms he's got the standard Terminator {{W40kKeyword|CHAPTER MASTER}} ATSKNF, teleport deep strike and hit rerolls for {{W40kKeyword|CARCHARODONS}} within 6" (renamed '''Lord Reaper of the Void'''), but he also gives them +1 Strength thanks to his unique ability '''Savagery Beyond Reason''' (doesn't need activating any more, but it's now only a 6" bubble instead of the whole table). He's a great choice to lead a Deep Striking Assault Terminator squad, but at a little over 200 points you'll need to place him where he can do maximum damage to earn back that cost.

Codex Space Marines didn't bring any special joy for the Carcharodons. The White Scars Chapter Tactic is the GW-recommended "appropriate" one for them, even though they're (probably) Raven Guard successors (mostly because the Raven Guard tactic involves being sneaky rather than murdering the bloody fuck out of everything in melee). This gives them 2" of extra movement whenever they Advance, and allows them to charge the same turn they Fall Back. If you do choose to go with the Raven Guard one, enemies that are more than 12" away get -1 to hit you. Seeing as you'll probably be aiming to get right in their faces and stab them, this is probably a poor choice. Alternatively, The Imperium's Sword from the generic list is pretty good for a stabby warlord.

The Black Templars are your best bet if you want to maximize your melee potential. Rerolling charges is simple, but ''very'' effective, especially for Tyberos and his terminator posse when they warp in 9" from an enemy unit. Access to Crusader Squads is also nifty, especially if you want to emulate their previous rules of Tacticals having an extra CC weapon.

Here is an approximation of what 6th/7th edition rules would look like if they were updated to 8th, for the Carcharodons.
'''Warlord Trait: ''Carcharodons''. ''Reavers of the Outer Darkness'':''' Friendly CARCHARODON units within 6" gain: In the FIGHT phase, if this unit is fighting a unit that has lost any models, that unit being attacked reduces their Toughness by 1 for the remainder of the phase.

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Blood Hunger'':''' CARCHARODONS models gain +1A in a turn that the charged.

'''OR'''

An alternative Chapter Tactic for the Carcharodons is this...

'''Carcharodon Ability: ''Terror from the Void'':''' Models in enemy units must subtract 1 from their Leadership characteristic for each unit with this trait that is within 6" of theirs (to a maximum of -3)

'''OR!''' '''OR!'''

'''With the release of the revised space marine codex, successor tactics let you pick 2 of 18 tactics to represent them on the table top.
Some of the most fluff related ones are

Fearsome Aspect: -1 Leadership to enemy units while they're within 3" of any of your units

Hungry for Battle: +1" to the advance or charge roll.

Tactical Withdrawal: Units with this tactic can charge after falling back.

Whirlwind of Rage: When making melee attacks for a unit that charged, was charged or made a Heroic Intervention,unmodified hit rolls of 6 score an additional hit.

'''OR!''' '''OR!''' '''OR!'''

Play them as successors to White Scars. You won't find better tools elsewhere to get into assault with and butcher things when you get there. Advance and/ Fallback and charge from their Chapter Trait; and +1 damage from Devastating Charge when the assault doctrine is active. Vastly superior to any of the successor Chapter Traits. As Whites Scars have relic, stratagems and Psychic powers that replicate "Hungry for Battle". While Tyberos’ +1S 6” aura, or +1S 6” aura from the relic banner is going to be far more effective than "Whirl Wind of Rage".

For and example of some of the combos you can do with Carcharodons as a White Scars successor. Take Tyberos using the "Hero of the chapter" stratagem to take the Imperium sword WL trait for +1 A and +1S, and re-rolling any or all charge dice. Now he's S6 boosting Hunger to: S12/AP-4/Dam3 with 7 attacks on the charge; and Slake S6/AP-3/Dam2/re-rolling failed wounds. You can do this as he doesn't have a fixed warlord trait and doesn't have to be your warlord. You can deep strike him along with a unit ten Assault Terminators with the Sgt using the "Khan's Champion" stratagem for Master-crafted Damage 5 Thunder Hammer. Now take a Terminator Librarian with the "Ride the Winds" psychic power for +2 to charge, and the "Plume of the Plains Runner" relic for a 6" aura granting +1 to advance and charge. Then if you need too. You activate the "Fierce Rivalries" stratagem to roll 3D6 to charge discarding the lowest; and you can command re-roll if needed for a 6" charge on 4D6.

For even more pain take a Jump Pack Captain as your actual Warlord with "Chogorian Storm" for +D3 attacks on the charge, then use "Tempered by Wisdom" to take "Master of Snares" as your second warlord trait for a 4+ roll to prevent an enemy unit falling back. You can now either arm him with an expensive Thunder Hammer, or go cheap with "Teeth of Terra" for +3 attacks for 8+D3 attacks at S5/AP-2/Damage 2. Personally, I'd take the Thunder Hammer and a Jump pack Lieutenant with the Teeth of Terra for re-rolling wounds. You can either outflank him or deep strike in with some double chainsword Vanguard and/or Assault Marines. All you jump pack infantry can advance and charge. Then next turn fallback, shoot and charge in again getting the bonus for shock assault again. Just brutal. Take a Jump Pack Chaplain with either "Benediction of Fury" relic for +2S/AP-2/ Damage 3; and or a Master-crafted Power Fist. For his litanies you can either take "Mantra of Strength" or "Canticle of Hate" for 6" aura of +2 to charge rolls, as well as +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. Canticle of Hate is the most useful if you start him on the board; since you can either move your jump pack units up with him or deep strike them into his aura.

For you troops you can take MSU Incursors or Intercessors with auto bolt rifles so they can they can move, advance, shoot and still charge. Then fallback, shoot and charge back in for that shock attack bonus. Taking a large unit or two of Scout Bikes is also very good in this build.

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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]