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Bran Redmaw

2023-05-26T13:07:53Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

Wolf Lord of the Bloodmaws [[Great Company]] of [[Space Wolves]], Bran Redmaw is afflicted with the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] and is known to occasionally turn into a big werewolf in battle. He is the [[Space Wolves]] Commander in [[Forgeworld]]'s [[Imperial Armour|Doom of Mymeara]] Book. The book covers an [[Eldar]] invasion of an Imperial ice world, with the [[Space Wolves]] coming to save the day again. He is also mentioned as taking part in [[Games Workshop]]'s new campaign book which features [[Space Wolves]], [[Dark Angels]], [[Grey Knights]] and [[Chaos]] [[Daemons]].

==Brief Character History==
After the death of Lord Andhrimnir during the Mordrak Campaign, Bran was promoted by Lord Andhrimnir's retinue to take over as Wolf Lord, as the [[Space Wolves]] are known to do. When the other Lords heard this they whined about it to [[Ulrik the Slayer]] saying that werewolves couldn't be Lords as he might lose control and they would end up with more another blank stone of the Anvilus. [[Logan Grimnar]] told them all to stop bitching and accept Bran as one of them. He said this after consulting the sage of the [[Chapter]], [[Bjorn]] who told of other lords who had the curse of the Wulfen in them, notably Bulveye of the original 13th [[Great Company]]. After all this [[Logan Grimnar]] tasked Ulrik and the rest of the Wolf Priests with keeping an eye on Bran so he doesn't become lost like the original Wulfen company. Bran's tactics revolve around playing the patient game, and he is almost as good as the [[Raven Guard]] at waiting for the right moment to strike. Once his orders are given, he leaves the battle to his Wolf Guard and disappears to hunt alone. This way, when he goes [[werewolf]] he doesn't waste any of his company in his rage. When he goes [[werewolf]] he transforms into a massive 12-foot-tall monster who can tear through armour with ease.

==Tabletop==
Redmaw is another of those very expensive 200+ point characters, but pound for pound is probably high value for what you pay for. He's got your regular Wolf Lord statline and all your traditional rules and gear. What he gets on top of that is a [[Awesome|S+1 AP2 shredding axe]] [[Rape|that strikes at initiative]]. So he's pretty handy in a scrap. Though the axe alone does not justify his points cost.

Each turn after the first he rolls a die, adding +1 for each unit in combat that he can see. If the result is a 5+ he goes full [[Werewolf]] and powers up to near-Primarch levels; gaining WS7 S/T6 I6 A5. As well as ''Eternal Warrior, Fleet, Furious Charge, Feel No Pain, Fearless,'' as well as ''Rending'' close combat attacks. However he does lose the axe and any ability to shoot, but he does keep all of his remaining gear, so he still has his 2+/4++ saves and sticks with whatever squad he was attached to.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Canis Wolfborn

2023-05-26T13:06:35Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

[[File:Canis wolfborn by tygodym-d4u76vx.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The Dude on a Wolf.]]
'''Canis Wolfborn''', also known as Growlthroat, the Feral Knight, Fangrider, or even [[Derp|Dog Wolfborn]], is a crazy fucker that rides a giant fucking wolf the size of a mastodon into battle. And is followed by a bunch of fucking [[Fenrisian Wolves]] that he can command. By barking at them...yeeeeaaaaah. He is a warrior of the [[Space Wolves]] Chapter.

Canis was said to have been raised by a she-wolf as a young boy when he sought shelter in the cave she was in and after a while, grew up and hunted with his new family, wolf tendencies included. He was recruited into the Space Wolves after a Wolf Lord named Harald Deathwolf discovered and challenged him to a grueling duel, which Deathwolf eventually won. Rather than put him down, he was brought to The Fang and made into an Astartes. [[Leman Russ| Doesn't this backstory sound vaguely familiar?]]

Many people consider him to be everything that's wrong with the [[Phil Kelly|5th edition Space Wolves Codex]] (AKA: an unhealthy amount of Wolf EVERYWHERE, to the point where the Space Wolves sound more like space [[furries]] instead of werewolf vikings in SPEHSS). Other people consider him to be an absolute badass rivaling [[Ulrik the Slayer]] or even [[Bjorn]] himself. Make of that what you will. Most people agree that his name is goofy however, not just because it's "Dog Wolfborn", but also because Canis is a Latin word rather out of place on a Space-Norseman's name. It'd be like an Ultramarine named Sven Ulrikssen, it's just ''weird''.

<s>He got killed by a Khorne herald in warzone Fenris.</s> No he didn't, he was saved at the last moment by his wolf.

==On the tabletop==
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Cannis Yiffborn:''' || 185 || 5 || 2 || 5 || 5 || 3 || 5 || 5 || 9 || 3+
|}

Canis is quite the [[skub|interesting chap]]. Like all wolves he has acute senses and ATSKNF, plus counterattack, rampage, and independent character. If he gets charged his Born of Wolves rule allows him and any wolves (actual wolves, not space marines) in his unit to reroll to-hit rolls. Nice, I guess? His warlord trait, Saga of the Wolfkin, gives all Cavalry and Beasts in his detachment Stubborn, plus any Beast or Cavalry unit within 12" of him gets Furious Charge until the end of that turn. Gear-wise he brings power armor, two wolf claws, a bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades, and [[/d/|mounts a Fenrisian wolf]]. He has a few issues. #1, no invuln and shit armor. His T5 will help a bit with survivability, as will his great mobility, but any character with [[Eldar|better initiative]] [[Dark Eldar| and a power sword]] will fuck him up. Somewhat less problematic but more confusing is his BS of 2. The fuck? Orks are laughing at your aim dude. This isn't really a problem because you'll never be shooting with him, but one has to wonder what horrible Tzeentchian curse he suffered to have a fucking BS of 2. As far as tactics go, he's a bit of a one trick hat but he's damn good at what he does. To put it simply,

Step 1. Stick Canis in a unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry and Puppies.

Step 2. Use cover and LOS to avoid getting shot until you can charge.

Step 3. Charge.

Rinse and repeat.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Lukas the Trickster

2023-05-26T13:03:02Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

[[File:Lukas the Trickster2.jpg|350px|thumbnail|right|Space Marines that are versed in the art of [[Troll|Trolling]] exist, and Lukas is the Godfather of them all.]]

{{Topquote|I think you have my eyes. It must've been your great, maybe great-great, grandmother I was... Acquainted with.|Lukas with a Blood Claw that looks familiar.}}

In a chapter known for its rebellious streak and tendency to stick a middle finger up at larger [[Imperial]] authority to [[Get shit done|get shit done]], Lukas the Trickster of the [[Space Wolves]] (also called the Strifeson, the Laughing One, the Jackalwolf, and That Enormous Prick; the last by both enemies and lovers) stands out for his legendary example of these...traits. He is despised by half the Wolf Lords for his constant mooning them during council meetings but does he care? Nah, he sees it all as part of the fun. He has never made it out of the Blood Claw packs due to his perceived immaturity but there is no denying his skills are far beyond most Wolf Guards and then some.

He also has renown as a serial shagger amongst the womenfolk of [[Fenris]] with the stamina of a herd of stallions; on one famed occasion, he famously once slept with a dozen women in one night. That might sound stupid, but Space Wolves recruit them relatively old, Fenris could be like some of Earth's historical societies where a boy became a man at age 13 (thus being able to start having sex then, if not slightly earlier) and the Space Wolves are famous for not becoming asexual with multiple Space Wolf characters still displaying sexual attraction to various women, so this could have happened at anytime. In the novel with his name, Lukas stated he also has tons of illegitimate children or other assorted descendants (one of the female characters who has his hair and eyes is all but stated to be one of his descendants) and he secretly goes around looking after his bastard children when he's not doing Space Marine stuff (that's surprisingly responsible and manly of him) with the implication he still sleeps around. It's also worth remembering that it is never stated that the Astartes are sterile (though GW flip-flops about whether or not Space Marines have their genitals removed) they're just conditioned to ignore sexual impulses as distractions, but the Space Wolves don't seem to do it because they consider getting laid a lot to be a sign of manly warrior strength to boast and laugh about at the mess hall. Keep in mind that Space Marines technically aren't genetically modified. They are filled with growth hormones of various kinds (probably mostly ones that don't occur naturally in addition to testosterone) to make them big, biological and artificial implants are stuck in them and various body parts are replaced (eyes and ears for instance) and the progenoid manages these implants and ensures the body does not reject them (usually). But, growth hormone treatment is not genetic alteration. They're still normal humans with extra stuff added to them, so they would still be able to have perfectly normal human children provided they still had dicks. In fact, they'd probably be very virile.

The only reason Logan Grimnar has not exiled him from the Chapter is because he recognizes that Lukas represents the rebellious nature of the Wolves and because for all of his antics Lukas is loyal to the organization itself, still gets the job done and gets it done well. Also, the other half of the Wolf Lords think he's hilarious.

Since his induction he has shown his penchant for playing 'tricks' on others, although his victims are in little agreement over the humor of it. He locked an [[Inquisitor]]ial Delegation in a grox breeding pen while the creatures were in heat [[Rule 34|(saucy)]] and spiked the drink of the Wolf Lord Hrothgar with some bloat-toad venom. These acts have led him to gain something of a cult following amongst the Blood Claws, as big an asshole as he is. Currently he is attached to [[Ragnar Blackmane]]'s company, that being the only group of hot headed idiots capable of stomaching the crazy lout. It helps that Blackmane, who is still a Blood Claw at heart, is one of the Wolf Lords who thinks Lukas is hilarious, to the point where he stopped Wolf Lord Bjorn Stormwolf from beating him to death for filling his Terminator Armour with bloodlice, making him itch uncontrollably.

When he turns his tricks on the Imperium's enemies however they produce stunning results (perhaps the only reason the hostile half of the Wolf Lords have never kicked him out of the nearest airlock; that and a belief that if they tried, then he'd somehow be the one in the ship and they'd be spacing themselves). He caused an [[Ork]] civil war with a series of faked transmissions; used a necrovirus on the cell of [[Dark Mechanicus|traitor Mechanicus]] adepts that made it in the first place; and caused a bunch of [[Word Bearers]] to land on thin ice, resulting in hundreds of traitor marine deaths, including the [[Chaos Lord]] (that alone would make any battle brother go down in history for grand efforts of trolling and earn a gold star from the Emperor).

His second finest dick move was using ancient tech to good effect during an Ork Waaagh. As the creatures attempted to conquer a planet, Lukas flicked the climate controls from 'normal' to 'chill motha' fuckas!'. When the great company arrived in force they found the orks were little more than ice statues and the temperature a pleasant reminder of home to them. This is also a terrifying example of how ridiculously advanced Dark Age humanity was.

Lukas was only beaten once and by the mad [[Dark Eldar]] corsair [[Duke Sliscus]], who removed Lukas' secondary heart as a parting gift and kicked him out an airlock (which the Wolf Lords had wet dreams about; if it wasn't for the fact that Sliscus was a mood-swinging Dark Eldar, you'd think he and Lukas would bond over their mutual rebellious streak and rampant philandering). Lukas though just laughed about it afterwards and had a stasis bomb put in place of his second heart. Should his primary heart every stop beating then....he will end up having the last laugh on his killer who will be frozen forever in his dying moment of glory.

Recently, Lukas made his finest dick move to date: tricking [[Magnus the Red]] while looking him in the eye. He accompanied [[Njal Stormcaller]] and [[Arjac Rockfist]] to Prospero to rescue some Space Wolf legionnaires trapped inside a man-made Webway since the Razing. Magnus caught him and at first threatened him, then tempted him to give up a Rune of Unlocking that would allow his complete take-over of said man-made Webway and use of it to empower him in real space. Lukas gave the thing up, only to reveal that he had never had the aforementioned Rune in hand before being spirited away. One can only imagine how horrifying he'd have been as an Alpha Legionnaire. [[Alpharius|Unless]]...

Also, it was revealed that Lukas is secretly afraid of the Wulfen curse.

==On the Tabletop==
Lukas is a Blood Claw with the stat block of a Wolf Guard Battle Leader, the only difference being his Leadership of eight, which any accompanied Blood Claw squad (and he can only join Blood Claws) will be forced to use. Many of the issues with that can easily be averted by adding a Wolf Priest to watch over them, which can be quite viable considering they are a close combat unit.

===7th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Lukas the Trickster:''' || 80 || 5 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 2 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 3+
|}

Lukas has Acute senses and ATSKNF as he should, plus Counterattack and Independent Character. His special rules are Blood Claws Hero (only blood claws put up with his bullshit), Rebellious (forces his bloodclaw unit to use his leadership of 8 at all times, '''NEVER''' higher) and his famous Last Laugh which stasis bombs an enemy that kills Lukas in a challenge if you beat them on a D6 rolloff. Gear wise Lukas comes with a wolfclaw and a plasma pistol, power armor, and frag and krak grenades.

Note that this Last Laugh, his trademark, was once the bane of Titans everywhere, as he could single-handedly remove any Titan that accidentally stepped on him. As of 7E, it's now been knocked down to just being in challenges and even then if the Player beats the other guy in a roll-off. Yeah, kind of a weak laugh.

===8th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Lukas the Trickster:''' || 80 || 2+ || 3+ || 4 || 4 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 3+
|}

Lukas has ATSKNF as he should, plus the CHARACTER and BLOOD CLAW keywords as he should. His special rules are Blood Claws Hero (only blood claws put up with his bullshit and re-roll wound rolls of 1 within 6 inches of him), Master of Mischief (subtracts 1 to the Leadership of ANY unit within 3 inches of him, yes it does include allied units), The Pelt of the Doppepangrel (subracts 1 to any hit rolls made against him in close combat) and his famous Last Laugh which stasis bombs an enemy that kills Lukas if you beat them on a D6 rolloff and suffers D6 mortal wounds. Gear wise Lukas comes with a wolfclaw and a plasma pistol, power armor, and frag and krak grenades.

As of 8E, his Last Laugh has now been changed so it only works if he's killed in close combat and even then only if the Player beats the other guy in a roll-off. Yeah, still kind of a weak laugh.

==Trivia==
Lukas is obviously based on the Norse God Loki, the God of Trickery and a good move in the right direction; less furry and more VIKINGS in space please, GW.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Haegr the Mountain

2023-05-26T13:00:25Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

{{Topquote|I should go get that back.|Haegr after launching his hammer over 50 feet to prove a point}}

==Origin and aspects==
Not much is known about this monster of a [[Space Wolf]], however what we do know is that he went through the gates of Morkai as all other Space Wolves have before, and drank from the cup of [[Wulfen]] as is the rite of passage. It was later along in his initiation period that the [[Techpriest]]s of the Fang discovered some kind of fault or error in his system. While unlike those of genetic impurity, the Fang skipped the paperwork and let him stay as his mutation wasn't as serious as you'd think with the wolves history of genetic mutation. Haegr is a big motherfucker, the tallest space wolf rivaling [[Leman Russ]] himself, also is his stomach, you ever see those Kirby gifs where he eats your mother's weight in food in one gulp? Haegr could eat about as much as that if he tried. His appetite is astronomical, once putting the fang almost into a food shortage. Due to this vast appetite, or another defect of this guy, is that he is fat as fuck, as in so fat that the tech priests had to custom build his armour to account for the sheer mass of his gut, this should be impossible especially for a space wolf due to their heightened metabolism allowing to digest almost any form of food or protein but not for this greedy bastard.

For whatever unknown reason Haegr was sent as an emissary of the Space Wolves to [[Terra]] as the Wolfblade, a unit of Space Wolves sent to guard and aid House Belisarius, a [[navigator]] house that are allied with the Space Wolves. It was here Haegr has spent possibly centuries of his life, missing and reminiscing his possible life of battle as he chows down on his 12th sheep sized meat pile.

TL;DR: He's a fat bastard who fights drunken master style with a thunderhammer. And not some prissy one-hander, no, the full blown "blacksmith anvil on a pole" heavy thunderhammer normally seen on Deathwatch Veterans. If you're gonna put him on the table, start with an ogryn mini and work your way from there.

==How shit went sideways and how unlucky he is==
Haegr later became close friends with another Wolfblade named Torin where they lived happily ever after... [[Fail|yeah]].

Shit blew up very quickly when some prick named [[Ragnar Blackmane]] cocked up and lost the spear of their [[Primarch]] [[Leman Russ]] to the warp and ended up being sent to serve as a Wolfblade for a few centuries. The kid was new to Terran life and was very naive to [[Imperium]] politics. The moment Ragnar arrived things went tits up.

Firstly another Navigator house invaded, if you don't know the severity of this then allow us to explain: This is the equivalent of the entire European navy attacking the navy of the Americas, imagine the implications, without navigators or the Astronomican then the whole imperium would be fucked as they can't enter the warp and if they try then daemons of rape and paper cuts would swarm and devour the entire crew. Sort of. More accurately the Imperium would have to use numerous series of short Warp jumps to constantly make course corrections. ''OR'' the Imperium would have to become even more dominated by the Mechanicus by letting the AdMech handle the providing and maintenance of techno-horror Navigator analogues (that are probably better anyway, but still). Which would more or less make the Imperium the Mechanicus's slave.

So here we find that one house is slaughtering the other, mere months after this Ragnar fucker arrived. During the fighting Haegr is poisoned by an imperial assassin but luckily survives, and Ragnar goes werewolf on the assassin before it could reach the head of the house, resulting in saving the day. However the secret vaults were broken into and the ancient travelers inside were slaughtered resulting in a huge power vacuum. Luckily the house recovers and in the upcoming months of Haegr's life he forms some kind of bond between Ragnar and himself ''(no idea how, Ragnar is the source of nearly all his problems).''

Later in his career Haegr is sent on a team with his friend Torin, Ragnar and about half a dozen other Wolfblades to the planet Hyades. Where things go from zero to "everything's fucked": all in all [[Chaos]] invades, literally sets the fucking world on fire, and because some chaos cunt had a grudge against Ragnar for foiling his plans time and time again, that's right, an entire fucking planet was set ablaze, thousands of both Dark Angels and Space Wolves were slaughtered along with the population of Hyades because of Ragnar! To their credit, when the two forces originally were fighting each other, they realized they were tricked and both groups of unimportant mooks redeemed themselves by putting the mortals together and using their own armored bodies as shields against a bombardment which killed the Astartes but the mortals were unharmed.

...but that's not all the shit that has happened to poor Haegr. Once he and the Wolfblades were back on Terra they were sent into the catacombs to suss out heretics and shit. On said mission they stumble upon a Psyker and his group of merry men and proceed to slaughter them while Torin kinda pissed off; in the battle Haegr is fucked to shit by the Psyker and had to have to escape, swim, and find aid to get sorta fixed while his entire left side had fused and burned into his armour exposing bone. All while having only Ragnar as company, so all in all Haegr has had some really bad luck that day (mainly in general ever since Ragnar arrived).

==Feats and personality==
Haegr is known for many things, for instance his sheer strength and size earning him the nickname the mountain, also is his appetite, capable of eating a tremendous amount of food or what ever is closest, he wields a mighty power hammer of which he uses to deadly effect with blinding speed which contrasts with his bulking frame, for range he uses dual bolters for mediocre effect and only uses when range is absolutely necessary and much prefers to cut the distance and get into the nitty gritty. Of which rather suits his personality, he's very boisterous and self representative, often referring to himself in third person and always talks far greater of himself and bulks up his image in events than he actually was, often challenging others to combat and trying to instigate a "beating" of which he often challenges his old friend Torin usually stating he would no doubt best him in combat.

Although his self image almost as big as his gut seems to take over his whole personality, he has been shown to care deeply about those who he calls friend and allies, at the death of one of the Wolfblade to a traitor and who breathed his last words in front of him, Haegr in boiling rage nearly murdered a squad of Dark Angels of whom were working in a temporary truce with the wolves, luckily Ragnar defused the scene before the truce was shattered and would have lead to many more deaths (so the big guy's got a heart after all).

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Ragnar Blackmane

2023-05-26T12:53:09Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

[[File:Ragnar_Blackmane_-_On_The_Hunt2.jpg|450px|right|thumb|He may have ridiculous plot armour and look like Mr. Bean, but the ladies would find that savage look of his attractive. Love the sword.]]
'''Ragnar Blackmane''', also called the [[Exarch|Young King]], the Gifted One, or the Allslayer, is a goddamn beserker killer werewolf of the [[Space Wolves]] Chapter, and while he does border on <strike>[[Mary Sue]]</strike> Furry Sue levels of perfection in war, Ragnar is known for his hot head and arrogance, often flying into berzerker rages in battle. Sure, he may be one of the most dangerous, accomplished marines who ever lived, but he's also a glory hound, a hothead, and kind of a dick. Think [[Cato Sicarius]], but with less tactical genius and more [[RIP AND TEAR|melee]] and [[Logan Grimnar|manly charisma]]. In fact, he's such a goddamned hothead that he murdered a [[Dark Angels|Dark Angel]] once. Ragnar was so enraged and ashamed after losing an honor duel to the angel that he lashed out in anger and killed him. I'd make a joke about bloodlust and [[Khorne]] worship, but it's not like [[Kharn|Khorne's greatest champion is also a dishonorable asshole or anything]].

Somewhat uniquely, he also has six different books. Four of these were written by William King (of [[Gotrek & Felix]] fame), while the other two were written by "Lee Lightner," a pseudonym for two separate guys. The latter two books are diametrically opposed in terms of editorial quality, with the sixth being quite well edited, and the fifth being barely legible in the last four chapters.

Although it is repeatedly stated that he got his nickname (yeah Blackmane is a nickname, what kind of surname would it be anyway) after the black Fenrisian Wolf he hunted and whose pelt he wore as a [[Furry|fellow wolf fetishist]], almost all art depicting him show a white/grey wolf pelt on his shoulders. Go figure. In the first book it is stated thar his black hair is unique among his people, hence "blackmane" refrencing his own black hair.

He was born on Fenris, but also lived on [[Earth|Holy Terra]] for a few years.

Besides his ri-dick-ulous amounts of plot armour, he's also equipped with Batman's utility belt; containing high-tech, non-standard, and possibly non-existent equipment such as:

;''Micro grenade dispenser!''
:Dispensing micro grenades instead of the regular frag, krak, and melta grenades. Grenade capacity: Unlimited.
;''Tubes of syntiflesh!''
:''Obviously'' substitutes flesh when you are wounded. Duh.
;''Emergency repair liquid ceramite!''
:Or some such shite, for when you have time to mend the cracks in your bathroom tiles.
;''Food obsessed sidekick!''
:For some heavy-lifting errands, extra plot armour, and occasional grimdark comedy. There are more than one and they all live in a secret compartment of the utility belt.

During the [[Psychic Awakening]] Ragnar set out on a mission to kill [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]] following some apocalyptic visions from the rune priests. The battle on Krongar ended up being so intense that he not only lost his two companion wolves but Ragnar himself was forced to cross the [[Primaris Space Marines|Rubicon Primaris]] after fighting the Ork Warlord. Unfortunately (or fortunately if your an Ork) Ghaz managed to survive DECAPITATION by the Space Wolf thanks to the Ork's favorite painboy reattaching his head to a new body. Upon realizing this following his awakening as a Primaris, the newly revived Ragnar tries to finish off Ghaz by taking a page from the Imperium’s enemies. More specifically he borrows the good old tactic of [[Abaddon|dropping a]] [[Blackstone Fortress|FREAKING SPACE STATION]] on [[Cadia|your enemies]] with ambiguous results regarding whether or not it worked.

==The Books==
'''Space Wolf:''' This book covers everything about the recruitment and training of the Space Wolves, as seen through the perspective of Ragnar. It starts with Ragnar still a [[Fenris]]ian tribesman. After some [[viking]]-related escapades (including the death of his father and sexy time with a viking chick), Ragnar goes batshit insane and kills tons of rival tribesmen. This causes the Wolf Priests to show up and recruit him. Then a drill sergeant named Hakon yells at him a lot. The book concludes with his first assignment as a Space Wolf, in which he and his buddies stop a [[Chaos]] invasion at the cost of two thirds of his team. Ragnar and one of his comrades even kill a [[Chaos Sorcerer]] named Madox.

'''Ragnar's Claw:''' A friend/ally of Great Wolf [[Logan Grimnar]] (who is, inexplicably, an Inquisitor) shows up and asks Logan for his help rebuilding a psychic artefact. Naturally Logan has better things to do so he weighs Ragnar's pack the job. A (kinda/sort of) love interest (who happens to be a [[psyker]]) dies to imprison a [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Nurgle]]. Entertainingly, Ragnar gets pissed on by a drunk [[Ork]]. Not quite as bad as it sounds.

'''Grey Hunter:''' The [[Thousand Sons]] decide to repay the [[Space Wolves]] for [[Prospero]] by defiling a sacred planet. Naturally, this pisses off the Wolves. Due to his plot armour, Ragnar kills Madox (again) before throwing the spear of [[Leman Russ]] through the eye of [[Magnus]] (yes, [[Daemon]] [[Primarch]] Magnus).

'''Wolfblade:''' Ragnar is banished (but only for a little while) and forced to protect a [[Navigator]] house named Belisarius. Why? Because he threw the most sacred relic of the Wolves into the Throne-forsaken [[Warp]]. This leads to much dicking about on Terra as well as massive amounts of [[just as planned]]. This is the ONLY Blackmane book with no Chaotic enemies.

'''Sons of Fenris:''' Due to some shenanigans by the Fallen there's a war between the [[Dark Angels]] and some balls-of-steel PDF troopers on a [[promethium]]-filled [[Death World]] called Hyades. Ragnar gets involved in some [[just as planned]] in the jungle.

'''Wolf's Honour:''' There's more Inquisitors, some [[Daemon World]]s, [[Wulfen]], and a planet called Charys that's going to get BLAMmed. Basically, Ragnar tries to steal the spear of Russ back and, in doing so, pisses on centuries of Magnus' [[just as planned]].

'''Ragnar Blackmane:''' Yes, a novel named after himself. Technically a tie-in with the fall of Cadia, but the book itself is primarily about Ragnar's flashbacks to different events, the main two being his duel with a Dark Angels champion that looks at issues of honor, and his run-ins with the Flesh Tearers, which serve to highlight the best and worst parts of the Wolves.

==On the tabletop==
[[File:Primaris_Ragnar_Blackmane.jpg|400px|right|thumb|"''Now, I have returned, [[Primaris Space Marines|the spirit of Morkai awakened within me]]. Hear my words, [[Space Wolves|brothers]]! [[The Beast]] may have risen once more, but I will not suffer [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|the foul creature]] to live even one day longer. For [[Leman Russ|Russ]] and the [[The God-Emperor of Mankind|All-Father]], I will slay this beast once and for all!''"]]
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Ragnar Blackmane:''' || 100 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 5 || 5 || 9 || 3+/4++
|}

Ragnar is a powerful close-combat character that specializes in raping hordes of MEQs and GEQs, and he's not half bad against TEQs. He's also a personal favorite of this author. Like all the Vlka Fenryka Ragnar has ATSKNF, plus he has the CHARACTER, WOLF LORD and INFANTRY keywords. He also has War Howl which allows him to reroll charges for every unit within 6 inches of him and Insane Bravado (+D3 attacks when he performs an Heroic Intervention). His warlord trait, "Saga of the Warrior Born," which allows him to always fight first in the assault phase even though the order in which units fight always seems a bit fucky. He can also take two Fenrisian "Wolves" if he so chooses. As far as gear goes he has power armor (notably [[FAIL|not runic armor]]), bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades, melta bombs, belt of russ (gives him an invuln), and a Str+1 AP-4 Damage 2 frostsword. With D3+1 attacks on heroic interventions, Ragnar is brutal on the charge phase. Anything without a 2+ armor or a good invuln is dead against Ragnar and he stands a fair chance against TEQs due to his volume of attacks and rending, but at the same time his lack of a 2+ armor save means you should keep him away from [[Grey Knights|lots of]] [[Honour Guard|power weapons]]. Ideally speaking, stick him in a group of Blood Claws or Grey Hunters with a Wolf Standard. Charge something. That thing dies. Repeat.

{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Primaris Ragnar Blackmane:''' || 120 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 6 || 7 || 9 || 3+/4++
|}

EXCEPT NOPE, LADS, he's a big boi now! Now he's rocking an extra wound, an extra two attacks and a superior melee attack - that Shock Assault rule gives him +3 attacks instead of +1. That's ''ten'' 2+ attacks, re-rolling ones for his aura, at S6 AP-4 D2. He's also still got all his nice, old abilities, re-rolling failed charges in a 6" aura, and his Warlord Trait is the same, so he still fights first if he's the warlord. His Wolves are gone, unfortunately. He's got power armor still, hence the 3+, and a Belt of Russ like all the other Jarls, hence the 4++. He's got a bolt pistol and frag and krak grenades for secondary equipment. You can pop him in an Impulsor with some Hellblasters or something to cover him, pop them out near the enemy with the Hellblasters closer than him, blast things with the plasma fire and then charge Ragnar on the following turn. He's squishy, though, so keep him at least moderately screened at all times.

==Trivia==
During these novels, Ragnar sent [[Derp|968 silent prayers]] to [[Leman Russ|Russ]] to maintain his plot armour's thickness.

At the beginning of Ragnar's books he gets laid by a chick in his village a few hours before he is Chosen by a wolf priest. This means that Ragnar is one of the very few canon marines who isn't a virgin, and could in theory be a father. Though it seems that the space wolves in general don't bother with teaching their brothers to keep their dicks in their power-trousers since Bjorn himself was known for trying to bed or flirt with nearly every pretty lady in the Imperial military he met way back in the Heresy, up to and including the ''Sisters of Silence'' And there is a story about how some Wolvws were tricked by a chaos illusion and only found out when one of them made a pass on one of the lady's bring drinks

In canon he became a wolf lord by Killing a warboss and his bodyguards by him self, but in the 3rd edition codex this is pointed out as 'being almost certainly apocryphal'.
{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Cato Sicarius

2023-05-26T12:49:56Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

{{skubby}}
{{MattWard}}
{{HurfDurf}}
{{Plot Armour}}
[[File:Cato Fall of Damnos.JPG|260px|thumb|right|"I, CATO SICARIUS, will lead you to the keg party! Toga, toga, toga!"]]
{{topquote|1=Excuse me, but you must mean that it is one of the greatest deeds the Chapter has ever accomplished! And it was thanks to '''I''', Cato Sicarius, because that is what it is! And '''I''', Cato Sicarius, was thinking that it was the most righteous time to remind you that '''I''', Cato Sicarius, to be your rightful heir as the new Chapter Master.|2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM8YGsAmeqE&feature=youtu.be&t=2m12s <s>Cato Sicarius</s> Cunto Shitarius]}}
{{Topquote|Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.|Cato the Elder}}
{{Topquote|Papa Smurf '''always''' says...|Brainy Smurf (repeatedly, and often followed by a kicking from the others).}}
'''He, Cato Sicarius''' (Or according to Autocorrect, '''Catonsville Aquarius''') (no relation to the [[Ordo Sicarius]]) is the leader of the [[Victrix Guard]] and formerly the [[Brother-Captain]] of the [[Ultramarines]]' Second Company. Among his titles are Master of the Watch, Knight Champion of Macragge, Grand Duke of Talassar, Cunto Shitarius, and High Shiggydiggytee of who gives a damn. [[Guy Haley|A better writer than Ward]] recited the whole litany once (we can imagine him sighing at his keyboard), but ''then'' [[Awesome|immediately followed up]] by saying, from the perspective of [[Roboute Guilliman|the fucking primarch himself]], that <s>Cun</s>Cato had "an ego to match" each of them. To those who like that particular epithet for the Ultras, he's Brainy Smurf to Marneus Calgar's Papa Smurf (for being an arrogant, smug know-it-all who gets brought down a peg whenever he gets too full of himself. Both also have a verbal tic of repeating names).

Hailing from the planet Talassar, Sicarius was [[Brother-Sergeant|Veteran Sergeant]] of the Second Company under Captain [[Severus Agemman]], the Captain of the 5th Company and Master Of The Marches by the time [[Hive Fleet Behemoth]] arrived to nom on [[Ultramar]]. After the First Company was horrendously nommed to the last man during the Battle for Macragge, Agemman was [[Promotions|promoted]] to First Captain and charged with filling up the First Company, with Sicarius replacing him as Captain of the Second Company, and Caito Galenus replacing Sicarius as Captain of the 5th Company. In the following two hundred and fifty some odd years, Sicarius has garnered a reputation for heroism and valiant actions surpassed only by a few others. Many within the Chapter believe that when [[Marneus Calgar]] dies, it will be Sicarius who succeeds him as [[Chapter Master]], even though Agemman (being First Captain) is the nominally designated successor. Agemman obviously hates this, but loves bringing it up specifically to get under Cato's skin, because the two of them hate each other [[Codex Astartes|for a bunch of other reasons.]]

He's one of the many fluff-based complaints against [[Matt Ward]], due to rather unbelievable feats such as repelling a ''one million'' Tau army with only thousand marines, which is rather unbelievable. You know, when you get outnumbered 1000 to 1, no matter how superhuman your soldiers are, they have no chances, even against [[grot]]s, not to mention tough as nails angry warmonger barbarians or high-tech space communists with an unholy amount of firepower.

Unless you're [[Sly Marbo]], of course. But that goes without saying [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hodow (or the winged hussars)].

In the end, of course, it turned out that [[Shadowsun]] just manipulated Cato to keep the Marines together, rather than separating them to support [[Imperial Guard]] as spearhead. So while Sicarius and his ragtag band were busy liberating three (and a half!) planets, the [[Tau Empire]] conquered three dozen more, effortlessly smashing through [[Planetary Defence Force]]s and Imperial Guard. Oh yeah he also killed a Transcendent [[C'Tan]]. Without being instantly turned to dust. Though somehow he was completely outclassed by [[Imperial Armour|The Undying of Damnos]] (who was going nuts via the [[Necron Destroyer|Destroyer]] madness). (If you must know, he broke his own self imposed rules and used a vortex grenade)
He also has about six canon models of him (the one not shown here is the Captain form the ''Assault on Black Reach'' starter). Meanwhile, [[Tu'Shan]] is still waiting for ''one'' model and ''rules'', while the [[Iron Hands]] have but a single [[Malkaan Feirros|special character]] who only got rules in 8th Edition.

Most Ultramarine armies will have his heraldry, due to it being more or less the default.

As of the latest Codex: Space Marines, he got lost in The Warp after being sent back to Macragge by Guilliman to protect it, where he spent an undisclosed amount of time murdering daemons that breached his ship while they found a way out. While Sevastus Acheran assumed his captain role, he eventually got out and joined Guilliman on the Indomitus Crusade, where Guilliman, despite fatherly sighs aplenty at Sicarius's arrogance, took a liking to him despite himself because he reminded Guilliman of [[Aeonid Thiel]], the great hero of the war of Calth, with whom he was very close. So anyway, Bobby G wound up taking Cato under his direct tutelage to temper the dickishness and hot-headedness out of him, much to the surprise and chagrin of [[Marneus Calgar|Papa Smurf]], who's currently getting the short-end of the stick ever since Guilliman has been essentially taking over his station (although, since he knows what's at stake, he's not outright [[Perturabo|bitter]] (...[[Horus|we hope]]?))

== Un-assholing the asshole ==
[[Nick Kyme]] and [[Graham McNeill]], (and surprisingly, [[Phil Kelly]]) in the Ultramarines books they've written, have played with Sicarius' character, showing his desire for glory putting the Second Company in extreme danger, and having several of his own sergeants suspicious about his motives. Nick Kyme's Space Marine Battles novel about the fall of Damnos shows the real reason the Ultramarines lost: because Sicarius insisted on winning an actual victory instead of just [[Exterminatus|blowing the planet to kingdom come]], which [[Varro Tigurius]] ultimately did after Sicarius had his ass handed to him (Which didn't work at all since Damnos became a major Tomb World). Phil Kelly's Blades of Damocles often shows Sicarius contrasted against the more [[Reasonable Marines|reasonable]] Jorus Numitor, who justifiably sees Sicarius as insufferable and frequently has to strong-arm him into doing the practical thing. Gods of Mars also noted this with one character (present during the Damnos Evacuation) saying that meeting Sicarius was the biggest anti-climax of his life because Sicarius gave every impression of feeling like he had lost personally, not the Ultramarines or the planet's population.

That said his way of thinking wasn't wrong, the Real Problem was that the Necrons outnumbered the Ultramarines 500 to one; and unlike other races they get back up, while the 2nd was mostly worn down by sheer attrition. Were any other forces present, Damnos could have been saved. In Graham McNeill's Ultramarines series, Sicarius acts as chief prosecutor (which is, technically, one of his roles as Captain of the 2nd) when [[Uriel Ventris]] and Pasanius Lysane are put on trial for violating the [[Codex Astartes]], having such a smug attitude toward his fellow Captain that even the [[Eldar]] would think he was being rude. While there is no denying he's ambitious, Sicarius takes extreme offense at insinuations that he's gunning for Chapter Master. Which means you can just rationalize Ward's fluff as just propaganda (in fact MOST of the codex reads like what Ultramar believes their chapter is). This wouldn't be the first time 40k had an asshole glory hound painted as the greatest hero ever, they're just usually in the [[Imperial Guard]]. (Space Marines who are glory hounds and heroes in evidence aplenty, even some who are [[Carab Culln|assholes]], just not to the level of [[That Guy|this motherfucker.]])

That said he's been getting some character development turning him into a rather likable guy, namely in Veil of Darkness and Warzone Damnos. Such as the reason for his smugness during Uriel Ventris' trial was because Cato was a long time friend (and Champion) of Captain Idaeus, and he was blaming Ventris for his death. On top of that, the typical Ultrasmurf Mary Sueishness aside, Sicarius is the only Ultramarines special character who regularly wears his damn helmet, and that’s gotta be worth brownie points for (un)common sense, at least. And oh Emperor, that armor looks awesome! And those who still can't get over his continual Mary Sue achievements have taken great joy in that he's been relegated from being on the front line all the time killing Necron and Tau armies with his pinky toe to guarding his resurrected Primarch. This amounts to standing in front of doors while Grandpapa smurf talks to important people/sleeps/RAGES at what the Imperium became, or throwing himself into a lascannon shot pointed in Guilliman's direction. Seems the wrath of Ward can go both ways.

After the Gathering Storm and the return of [[Roboute Guilliman]], Sicarius is appointed Captain of the [[Victrix Guard]], Guilliman's new (old) [[Honour Guard]], and seems to have ceded command of the 2nd Company to Captain Acheran, the Primaris Captain on the front of the Dark Imperium box set, though he seems to have kept his other titles. Seeing a little of [[Aeonid Thiel]] in Sicarius, but also recognizing that his combat prowess is equal only to his ego, Guilliman has wisely moved him out of strategic command and into a role as a guard captain, where Cato can always follow his lord into the thickest combat to fight duels and jump in front of bullets and do other brave courageous things. Guilliman also hopes to temper his personality to forge him into the leader he could be, in addition to the warrior he already is.

Early into the Indomitus Crusade, the [[Strike Cruiser]] he was on, ''The Emperor's Will'', gets lost in the Warp when the light of the Astronomican flickers for a brief moment. For five years it finds itself adrift in the Empyrean's tides, while the crew and Astartes gradually lose section after section of the ship. After a desperate defense of the Gellar Field generators, the ship is forced out of the Warp... Unto an unknown but inhabited feudal world. In desperate need of supplies, Sicarius leads an expedition to the planet, and once there claims that he and his men were Knights from a northern country called "Macragge". He and his Marines are soon drawn into conflict with Feral Orks, who had plagued the humans of the world for centuries. While things become complicated when it was discovered that the local ruler to be controlled by Necrons, of all things, Sicarius and his Marines still aid the people in fighting off the Orks. Then they turn their attention to the Necrons there, which is impressive, considering the drubbing the Ultramarines received on Damnos. Presumably he was done with all the shit and just told the men to toss Vortex Grenades liberally. With that little issue settled, Sicarius finally makes contact again with Imperial Forces, and rejoins his Chapter.

Dark Imperium: Plague War establishes that he has gotten some pretty major PTSD from his experiences being lost in the Warp. Given what we now know, it had clearly been a humbling experience for him, and filed off much of the brashness from ol' Cato.

Knights of Macragge heavily implies that he was implanted with Thiel's gene seed line.

==Cato's Many Titles and Honours==
Cato Sicarius is such a glory hound that he's responsible for one of the few Ultramarine's deviations from the Codex Astartes, as well as having titles that actually exceed the station of his peers.

*'''Master of the Watch''': Firstly and perhaps least controversially Cato holds/held the position as his right as Captain of the 2nd Company. Part of the duties of Master of the Watch involve maintaining the Chapter Fortress Monastery; somewhere he hasn't been in a long time since becoming Guilliman's pet captain and bodyguard. Presumably Acheran took it when his tenure as 2nd Captain began, though as it stands, Cato still has it listed as one of his titles.
*'''Grand Duke of Talassar''' comes from his birth family as a noble from his [[Void Tridents|home world]] and is therefore hereditary. But its rather vain that he would keep such an attachment to his former life, when most Space Marines divorce themselves from mortal affairs. It's not like he can pass it on to an heir. If it was an actual functional title with its own duties it just adds to the busywork he is no doubt neglecting by piling on his other roles.
*'''Knight Champion of Macragge''' is controversial. He gained the title some point prior to his promotion to Captain of the Fifth company, implying he was Chapter Champion but then kept it going after his promotion. For one, the whole point of having a chapter champion in the first place is so that your chapter's officers aren't risking their life in honour duels, so having an officer serve as champion is a bit self-defeating. Though it is worth noting that there was a separate Chapter Champion even after Cato took his promotion, potentially creating a duplication of roles and a deviation from the Codex. However, as Master of the [[Victrix Guard]] he is now officially the bodyguard and personal champion of his own Primarch so the title carries some level of legitimacy again, but it's not as if Guilliman really needs Cato to step in front of him when someone demands satisfaction.
*'''High Suzerain of Ultramar:''' is probably the most laughable. Because a Suzerain is the superior lord of a particular region, typically its monarch. The fact he is not merely the Suzerain but also the ''"High Suzerain"'' of Ultramar fully implies that Cato is the sovereign of the original eight systems ''(as it was when he was presented with the Eternium Ultra)''. While this might be a civilian title and would be acceptable if it stands beside his rank within the Chapter it gets even sillier when one considers that Captain Agemman of the 1st Company is merely the ''Regent of Ultramar'', which is a lower position in peerage and really shows that the codex writers were simply throwing titles at Cato Sicarius' fluff without thought for what they actually meant. Of course, he may be a [[Mary Sue|different form of "High ''Sue''zerain".]]

== Canon Conflict ==
He has something of a canon conflict, as [[Captain Titus]] is Captain of the Second Company in [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]. According to the developers, Space Marine takes place in an alternate [read: better] universe where Titus was promoted instead of Sicarius (although they probably still know each other as Sicarius will most likely still be the 5th Captain). Though Titus might have just as well been one of the previous Captains of the 2nd Company before Severus Agemman, or it takes place sometime in early M42 and Sicarius has died and been replaced with someone much more competent, given there's no set date for the events of <i>Space Marine</i>. Or it could be down to the fact Sicarius is now a member of the Victrix Guard and therefore has a subordinate running his company in his stead. Or most likely Relic just went with the default Ultramarine colors and didn't care about the company colors.

What makes it even odder though is that Captain Titus meets the Blood Ravens after their Chapter Master Kyras turned traitor (given that their motto was "None shall find us wanting"). Indeed, the Creator of the game hinted that Captain Titus was forcibly inducted into [[Deathwatch]] and got his own Chapter later on, as Sicarius recognizes a "Captain Titus" as one of his predecessors. Again odd as the Blood Ravens fought the Tyranids before Kyras went full Daemon Prince. For this to work, Scout Sergeant Cryus of the Blood Ravens would have to have been part of Inquisitor Kryptman's retinue, then be released from Death Watch service to give his experience to the Ravens. The Tyranids then attack Typhon, Kyras turns traitor, Kyras gets killed, the Blood Ravens' name is cleared, they send a squad to help Captain Titus, and then Titus imprisoned to allow Agemann to take command of the 2nd. All of this before Kryptman went to warn Ultramar of the Tyranids invasion with him completely ignoring Typhon. Maybe Old Gabe sent a squad to Captain Titus before Kyras was killed but that would be odd as his forces were depleted and they were fighting half the chapter to clear their names. Maybe it's just all time travel warp fuckery.

Another potential canon conflict, as of the Ultramarines Supplement 2019, it states that good ol' Cunto here is still trapped in the Warp since the Indomitus Crusade. Now this isn't much of a problem, but considering that the book also claims the most recent event occurring in Ultramar is the Plague Wars, it should be noted that as of Guy Haley's Dark Imperium books Cato is actually there talking to Frater Mathieu. During the Plague Wars! This is more of a derp, as Cato is shouting at Mathieu about the shit he went through in the Warp.

With Titus confirmed canon, a finagling can be the following: The Blood Ravens send a squad to the mess at Graia after Kyras bites it, Titus is there as Acting Captain, while Sicarius is overseeing Ventris's trial and sentencing to take care of the [[Daemonculaba]] business, Titus serves with the Black Templars after being arrested, Cato tears Leandros a new one over reporting possible heresy to the Inquisition rather than his own chain of command, then Titus returns from the Templars after Calgar became Primaris, then becomes a Lieutenant in the second after Acheran succeeds Cato's command when Cato was missing in the warp, with a final finagle of Acheran being a senior sergeant to Titus but being wounded at the time Titus was made Acting Captain so only properly succeeding Cato's command when the latter is MIA, and keeps it when Cato returns and is promoted away from line service to lead the Victrix Guard.

== On the Tabletop ==
===In 7th Edition===

{{40k-Nonvehicle-Model-Profile|name=Cato Sicarius|points=195|ws=6|bs=5|s=4|t=4|w=3|i=5|a=3|ld=10|sv=2|inv=4|type=Infantry(Independent Character)|clear=yes)}}

Cato Sicarius is pretty much the vanilla space marine captain in the setting. While not an unholy god of rape in combat, he's hardly weak and stands a fair chance against most nameless IC's. He's just kinda... Meh. Rules wise he has the typical ultramarine's ATSKNF and Chapter tactics, plus he has FNP, Furious Charge, Independent Character, and Surprise Attack (grants +1 to reserve rolls while Cato is alive). He also has a unique rule called Battleforged Heroes that allows him to grant one tactical squad of your choosing one of the following rules: counter attack, tank hunter, infiltrate, or scout. His wargear includes an Iron Halo, artificer armor, frag and krak grenades, a plasma pistol, and the (surprisingly not master-crafted) relic blade Talassarian Tempest Blade which is Strength user AP3 with the Coup-de-grace special rule which allows him to trade all his melee attacks for a single mighty blow with +2 strength and instant death. Which is cool I guess. Be cooler if it was AP2.

Like I said, in game Cato Sicarius is pretty vanilla. He's a bit harder than most with a 4++ and FNP and he's pretty mean on the charge, but he's also a bit pricey. He has some nice tactical bonuses with his two special rules and his warlord trait, Rites of War, which allows friendly units in his army to use his Ld for any morale-based checks. He's a pretty good all-rounder whose abilities are focused on improving his men, despite his fluff making him out to be a glory hound and a legendary single-combatant.

===In 8th Edition===
Now at 100 points, he is much cheaper than before. He now has 5 wounds, 4 attacks and a 4+ invulnerable save. He gives friendly Ultramarines within 6" re-roll 1s to hit (much like any Captain) and also Ultramarine Tactical Squads within 6" always fight first in melee. Not a very useful ability since it does not affect himself and Tactical Squads do not really want to be in close combat. A Power Fist always striking first can be pretty dangerous though. His Tempest Blade now has AP -3 and D3 damage. On any wound roll of 6+ it deal D3 mortal wounds. This ability is going to be used a lot, since he still strikes at strength 4. However, with only 4 attacks, you will not be rolling 6s every time.

All in all, he is a nice complementary piece. He is not very expensive and also a cheap 2+ save model (almost equal to a vanilla Terminator Captain and with much better stats). Never make the mistake of overcharging his Plasma Pistol though. he has 1/36 chance to die instantly (will you risk it?).

== Possible Ancient Inspiration ==
In ancient Rome, [[Ordo Sicarius|''Sicarius'']] was the word for murderous street thugs, named after their sickle-like bent dagger, and the word carries on as ''sicario'', roughly meaning hired assassin in Portuguese, Italian and Spanish. IRL you'd be most likely to hear the term in the context of Latin American ''narcotraficantes''. In the Roman context, however, the dagger is intimately connected with thuggery and assassination as it is easily concealed under your tunic. You had better, for the [[Skub|law prohibited being armed]] in the city. Because of this, using a ''sica'' was considered having no honor, while gutting your political opponent with, lets say, a ''gladius'' was totally okay, especially if you challenge them to get down in the Colosseum with you, while the crowd goes [[Khorne|observant cornflakes]] (actually, fighting in the Arena was a huge no-no for the roman upper class. Emperor Commodus (you know, the son of Marcus Aurelius and the antagonist in ''Gladiator'') scandalized the Roman elite by fighting in the arena, for example.)

Incidentally, ''Sicarius'' is a possible origin of the unusual cognomen of Jesus's unfaithful disciple, Judas I''scario''t (which would make it an English translation of a Latinatization of a Hellenization of an Aramaic rendering of a Greek word loaned from Latin via Greek again, just so we're all clear...) The meaning would have carried very clear and appropriate connotation of betrayal and cowardice to the readers of the Gospels, Hellenized Jews and early Gentile Christians. That said this is only one possibility, as while the idea of a Sicarius thug was common in Rome there's no evidence the term was applied to Jewish rebels until 30 years after Judas died.

One should wonder, what does all this say about our smurf guy here? Considering GW usually picking telling names when speaking Latin? And Cato's visual appearance so clearly being that of a Roman centurion? Those connections make sense, as there are two renowned Roman Republic [[High Lords of Terra|traditionalist senators]] (who also served as generals without any formal training) by the name of Cato, Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger，great-grandfather and great-grandson respectively, and they generally make the [[Grimdark|High Lords of Terra look like very nice people]], like all ancient Roman politicians we have record of, and were also considered by their people as morally upright and incorruptible since they refused bribes and followed traditional virtues, [[Tzeentch|because that's totally all the credibility you need to be a good person.]]

Thought to think upon: More than once in ancient Rome, either Cato the Elder or Cato the Younger was mostly likely referred to, at least once, as "Cato Sicarius". A more grievous insult than what was meant indeed.

Or maybe we're just [[Kairos Fateweaver|overthinking]] things, since GW has been known from time to time to give historically resonant names that sound cool but make [[Belial|no sense]] [[Baal|for their]] [[Azrael|owners]], after all, but that's usually a thing for legions that are named "Angels." So ''[[Tzeentch|maybe]]''. But given Cato's penchant for self-promotion and the weird vibes and post-''Gathering Storm'' dynamics building between him, his [[Uriel Ventris|brother smurfs]], [[Marneus Calgar|Papa Smurf]], and [[Roboute Guilliman|the returned Primarch]], there's some potential for some sicarius-swinging. But not too likely given the Ultramarines' image as the (relatively) good guys and poster boys of the Space Marines.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Sicarius1.jpg|His mini, more lovingly crafted than most other 40k armies (Dare we say master-crafted?). Also, that fucking smug grin.
File:True_Captain_Sicarius.jpg|The old Space Marine Captain mini from the 4th edition was actually labelled as the model for Captain Sicarius.
File:Ultramarine_captain_sicarius_Medusa_V_Campaign.jpg|Sicarius's previous mini. Back during his wolverine phase.
File:Ultramarine captain cato sicarius by diegogisbertllorens-d7cml6y.jpg|Say what you will about this smug glory-hog, but he's a cooler and more well-rounded character than all the other "[[Torias Telion|I'm]] [[Antaro Chronus|the]] [[Varro Tigurius|best]] because [[Sammael|I'm]] the best" characters.
File:Cat-O Sicarius.jpg|Cat-O Sicarius, the most glorious of all house pets. (For extra laughs, read all the lines using [https://youtu.be/bM8YGsAmeqE?t=2m12s this voice].)
File:The heroic chronicle of cat o sicarius 2 by theangrymarine.jpg|The continued adventures of Cat-O Sicarius (with guest appearance by [[Araghast the Pillager|Aragrowl]]).
File:Cato Sicarius and the Space Thot.jpg|Cato Sicarius knows how to deal with [[Tau]] women.
</gallery>

{{Marines-Characters}}

Illiyan Nastase

2023-05-26T12:47:05Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

{{Oldschool}}
{{Heresy}}
[[File:1255136711848.jpg|thumb|Rawr! I hate this!]]
==How it was back then==
Some older fluff mentions that Eldar and Humans both were created by the Old Ones, and therefore should be able to give birth to Eldar-Human hybrids. This, of course, is mad old fluff that can't be trusted to function anymore (humans probably didn't exist sixty million years ago, after all), and you can be sure that your friends at the Inquisition will tell you that mating with an Eldar will result in corruption, mutations, and <s>one hideous baby</s> no baby at all, before promptly blamming you (to be fair, banging a potent psyker species probably will have terrible effects on you).

Suffice to say, back in the old [[Rogue_Trader_(Sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] days there were not only Human-Eldar halfbreeds, but some openly found their way into the upper echelons of the [[Imperium]].

<s>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilie_N%C4%83stase '''Ilie Nastase''']</s> '''Illiyan Nastase''' was born on Badab towards the end of the [[Badab War]] in M41.912 to a human mother and Eldar father. After genetic testing, he was taken into Imperial Custody and when he was twelve years old was sent to Terra because he was a psyker.

He was then ''Soul-Bound'' to the Emperor and worked for the [[Administratum]] as an [[Astropath]] where he rose in rank to "Secundus Prefect" and held the position of "Consul" for four years where he was an advisor to the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.

THEN he was attached to the [[Dark Angels]] for a further two years.

After which he was promoted to Chief of the Macragge communications link and somehow holds the rank of Chief Astropath within the [[Ultramarines]].

Fun side note: named after Romanian tennis star of the 1970s, Ilie "Nasty" Nastase, affectionately called the "Bucharest Buffoon" by some.

==Why this is bullshit today==
First, eldar & human hybrids are extremely unlikely; despite possibly [[Xenology|sharing a common ancestor]], the two species are probably so far apart that offspring are not viable, especially since according to Xenology, Eldar DNA contains considerably more base pairs ''(which are used to determine amino acid structures)'' than humans do, and their DNA contains more helices (and therefore binds to itself differently). Not to mention whether or not they have the same number of chromosomes, and Eldar reproduction to create a zygote involves roughly five different stages, so either the woman [[Slaanesh|gets it on with several other partners]] and makes a mixed baby OR the male partner [[Love Can Bloom|tries over and over again to make it work]]. So basically one-night-stand pregnancies are out of the question... Unless human sperm is more manly than the Eldar's, which is pretty obvious.

*[[Genestealers]] can create hybrids, albeit parasitically and using [[tyranid]] shenanigans, so there is ''some'' limit to how different their DNA is, but that's a special case. Then again, Genestealers can infect ORKS, so it's not conclusive evidence.

Secondly, any such offspring would be considered an abomination under Imperial Law and by the [[Ecclesiarchy]], and would be put to death. Oh, speaking of, did we mention that he was born on Badab during the Badab War? And thus likely didn't actually have much contact with Imperial Law or the Ecclesiarchy: [[Lugft Huron]] was a political secessionist at that time (not the raving chaos lunatic that he would later become). So any official sanction of a Human-Eldar hybrid would be extremely unlikely, and if it ''were'' sanctioned, would have been killed when the Carcharadons blew up the planet.

Thirdly, do you really think they'd let a human-eldar hybrid all the way back to Terra and be soul-bound to the Emperor? I mean COME ON?! THEN let him rise all the way up the ranks to become an advisor to the Adeptus Astra Telepathica?

Fourth, the [[Dark Angels]] in the older lore were constantly mentioned as having proclivities for disdaining mutants and abhumans, meaning if they knew about him [[Blam|they'd have something to say about his continued existence]]. The Dark Angels have mostly moved past those explicit prejudices in the fluff, and association with [[Watchers in the Dark|odd psychic creatures]] is probably something they [[Fallen Angels|don't want to be drawing attention to]].

After all this... holding the rank of Chief [[Librarian]] means he'd have authority over the Librarium and therefore other space marines. Though in the days when the article was written the Ultramarines were pretty cool about having non-Astartes throughout the ranks. The article ''did'' actually explain the organisation of the Librarium as being a mixture of non-Marine Astropaths and Marine psykers, so because Nastase was explicitly ''<u>not</u>'' a Space Marine this is one saving grace for the whole article.

And that's not even getting into the views of the eldar on human/eldar offspring. While GW hasn't fleshed out the Eldar as much as their precious Imperium, considering how most eldar consider humans to be no better than monkeys, they'd probably view having sex with a human as [[FATAL|bestiality]]. Of course that doesn't stop [[Dark Eldar|some people]], but even the Dark Eldar would still oppose it as [[/pol/|sullying their "superior" genes by mingling with a "lesser race"]].

Not so much bs today with the new happy feely Eldar smurf love Robbie now has. Who knows, in a few years the [[Matt Ward|Spiritual Liege]] may retcon Nastase into becoming Roboute's and [[Yvraine]]'s [[Extra Heresy|lovechild]]. You may now retch at the idea. Or just plain giggle at the prospect of such ''delectable'' HERESY.
*'''007021.M02:''' In a surprise that no one in their right mind saw coming, Nastase returns in "Dawn of Fire: The Gate of Bones." This time as a Farseer of Ulthwe and a herald of Eldrad to Guilliman. He also appears again as an advisor for Guilliman in "Godblight." While he's just about at his limit from interacting with humans for a long time, he's grudgingly assisting Guilliman's forces in fighting Chaos. He also got some amusement from debating the nature of God-hood and faith in contrast to psychic sorcery with Roboute Guilliman.

===Conclusion===
[[File:Illyian Nastase minature.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Now in miniature version.]]
But, knowing 40K and GW, this is unlikely to be canon, especially since [[Varro Tigurius]] is the [[Librarian|Chief Librarian]] during the dates that Nastase supposedly also holds the same rank, but on the other hand isn't an astropath whereas Nastase is.

Also, in the same article, the Ultramarines of Macragge were said to be a chapter of the THIRD FOUNDING raised to replace the [[Ultramarines|13th Legion]] [[Who_Watches_Them|who had turned traitor]] and fled to the Eye of Terror, and this new chapter received all of the paraphernalia of the old legion. '''ULTIMATE HERESY''' {{BLAM}}

On the other hand, didn't they explicitly state that all official fluff is debatable and subjective, often portraying [[Ultramarines|whoever are the heroes]] to their favour?

Love might just be able to bloom anyway. {{BLAM|NOOOOOOOOO NO NOOOOO. *BLAM**BLAM**BLAM**BLAM* HERESY!!!}}

[[Space Wolves|RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]

==Codex Illiyan Nastase ==
Now you can bring him back on the table to fight alongside the Ultramarines.

{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Illiyan Nastase ''' || 150 || 5 || 5 || 3 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 3 || 10 || 3+
|}

'''Unit Type''':
* '''Infantry (Character)'''

'''Unit Composition''':
* '''1 Unique'''

'''Wargear''':
* '''Sword of The Telepathica'''
* '''Archeotech Laspistol'''
* '''Armour of The Chief Astropath'''
* '''Frag Grenades'''
* '''Krak Grenades'''

'''Special Rules''':
* '''Chapter Tactics (Ultramarines)'''
* '''Independent Character'''
* '''Psyker (Mastery Level 2): Illiyan Nastase generates powers from the Biomancy, Daemonology, Divination, Pyromancy, Telekinesis and Telepathy disciplines.
* '''Adamantine Will'''
* '''Eldar Bloodline''': Illiyan's life was anything but easy to him due to him being an impure bastard offspring between a human and an Eldar. To this day he wonders how he managed to survive in a civilization that would see him get purged on sight. On the other hand this doesn't seem to bother his brethren that adopted him, and he discovered some good things about having an Eldar bloodline...
:Due to Illiyan Nastase's origins, all non-Ultramarines Space Marines (except for those who are successors to the Ultramarines) in an allied detachment become '''Allies of Convenience'''. Inquisition and Sisters of Battle allied detachments become '''Desperate Allies'''. Illiyan also gets the '''Ancient Doom ''' and '''Battle Focus''' special rules (see Codex: Craftworld Eldar). Additionally, Illiyan gives '''Battle Focus''' to any squad he joins.
;'''Chief Astropath'''
:Although not a Space Marine, Nastase is a skilled psyker in his own rights, yet his telepathic abilities are even more impressive, as befits of a previous member of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.
::When manifesting and casting powers from the '''Telepathy''' discipline, Nastase gets a +1 to his rolls. Similarly, he gets a +1 to his rolls when he suffers Perils of The Warp if he fails to properly manifest or cast a power from the '''Telepathy Discipline'''.

;'''Sword of The Telepathica'''
:A unique Force Sword that was given to Nastase while he was still a Consul and advisor to the Master of The Adeptus Astra Telepathica. This blade is both well balanced and improves Illiyan's combat capabilities.
:The '''Sword of The Telepathica''' is a Master Crafted Force Sword that grants Illiyan Nastase the '''Counter-Attack USR'''.
;'''Archeotech Laspistol'''
:An ancient design of Laspistol that pre-dates the Great Crusade, this weapon has enough power to make a mockery of Chaos Marine Power Armour.
:The '''Archeotech Laspistol''' is an S6, AP3 Laspistol.
;'''Armour of The Chief Astropath'''
:Nastase's unique suit of Power Armour. At first glance it looks like a simple MK.VI Corvus Pattern Power Armour, but in reality it has additional systems designed to better protect him against danger, but especially against psychic powers.
:The '''Armour of The Chief Astropath''' is a suit of Power Armour that has a Psychic Hood included and grants Nastase a 5++ Inv Save, which becomes 3++ when saving against a Psychic Power.

==Retcon Resurrection==
Though the Eldar-Human hybrid of yesteryear no longer exists in modern day fluff, an Eldar Farseer named Illiyanne Natasé was dispatched from Ulthwé by Eldrad to serve in Roboute Guilliman's retinue as an advisor during the [[Indomitus Crusade]]; they end up having a surprisingly intriguing discussion with one of his Librarians on what it means to be a god and whether it would be accurate to call the Emperor a god.

{{Marines-Characters}}

Marneus Calgar

2023-05-26T12:45:51Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

{{MattWard}}
[[Image:Blingmarine.jpg|right|thumb|Marneus Calgar, in all his pimpness.]]
{{topquote|Duty does not care what weapon it has. If not bolts, blades. If not blades, fists. Duty is a weapon that does not break.|The man himself}}
{{topquote|It’s only when finishing issue 5 that I realised that ''Marneus Calgar'' is a love story, but it’s a love story between me and power fists.|[https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2020/09/goatboy-interviews-kieron-gillen-marvels-marneus-calgar-comic-writer.html Kieron Gillen, writer for the Marvel ''Marneus Calgor'' miniseries]}}

'''Marneus Augustus Calgar:''' Also known as '''The Notorious M.A.C''', '''The MAC Daddy''', '''Big MAC''', '''Manliest Cattleguard''', '''Pimp Daddy Calgar''', '''[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Big Daddy Calgar]]'''. Recently demoted from '''Papa Smurf''' to '''Brainy Smurf''' due to the return of tha notorious [[Roboute Guilliman|RbG]], though some call still call him Papa Smurf and Big Bobby G as Grandpa Smurf.

And as of his latest incarnation, [[Primaris Marines|Primarneus Cawlgirl]].

Marneus Calgar is the current [[Chapter Master]] of the [[Ultramarines]] Chapter of [[Space Marines]], and titled Lord [[Macragge]]. He's also now a [[Primaris Marines|Primaris Marine]].

LOOK AT THEM PIMP-SLAPPIN' HANDS!

A character from the fictional ''[[Warhammer 40k]]'' universe. According to [[Matt Ward]], 5th edition codex writer, Calgar is the [[spiritual liege]] of every [[Space Marine]] ever and is now playing second fiddle to his [[Roboute Guilliman|newly resurrected primarch]]. All the Space Marines look up to him (or down to him) and strive ever jovially to be more like him and his [[Ultramarines]], but because of their laughable shortcomings, most Chapters, including the [[Dark Angels]], [[White Scars]], [[Imperial Fists]], [[Blood Angels]], [[Iron Hands]], [[Salamanders]], [[Raven Guard]], [[Space Wolves]] and all their successors, will never be as good (with the possible exception of the [[Hammers of Dorn]]). It is stressed constantly in the vanilla Space Marine codex and even mentioned a bit in the Blood Angels codex. The entirety of the [[Imperium]] awaits the day the [[Emperor]] awakens so that he may proclaim Calgar the rightful heir to the Imperial throne. As a surely irrelevant side note, Matt Ward plays Ultramarines (then [[Trazyn|later]] [[Necrons]]).

==Just who is he?==
Calgar is one of the big three, the others being [[Dante]] and [[Logan Grimnar|Logan]], the three Chapter Masters the whole Imperium knows. While Dante is worshiped as a larger than life legend and Logan is beloved for being a bro to the common man, Calgar is respected for his leadership, both in battle and ruling [[Ultramar]].

His characteristic weapons are the Gauntlets of Ultramar, which were ''reclaimed'' by the [[Primarch]] [[Roboute Guilliman]] from a [[Chaos]] Champion (Where'd he lose them in the first place?). These gauntlets allow Calgar to bash gaping holes in enemy lines, allowing his men to achieve victory for the Imperium in a joyous slaughter of the heretic forces across the galaxy. They do, however, make it extremely difficult to use restroom facilities, turn door handles, or hold small objects. They also have attached Storm Bolters on each arm. Like a baws.

Following a skirmish against the [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Fleet]] Perseus in 976.M41, Calgar lost all four limbs as well as large areas of body tissue and his left eye. Fitted with bionic replacements, he is more machine now than man <s>twisted and evil</s>. So his giant, power fist, gun hands are pretty much his actual hands. Several guys have argued that he currently bears a prosthetic robotic penis. For unexplained reasons, his augmetics are inferior to [[Colonel_"Iron_Hand"_Straken|Col. Straken's]]

An unofficial nickname for Marneus is "Papa Smurf", due to other players referring to the Ultramarines as Smurfs and Calgar being their leader. The nickname has its origin in the actual miniatures' diminutive size and the fact that they are blue. One could also point out, of course, that the average cartoon smurf is either a [[Eldrad|total dick]] or pants-on-head-retarded, and requires Papa Smurf's constant leadership and guidance just to function on an everyday basis. This allows us to extend the metaphor in a hilarious way. Further extending the metaphor is that he once got his shit kicked in by the [[Swarmlord]], who has since been nicknamed Gargamel, while Roboute Gulliman (see below), who was the original Ultramarines leader, came back after a long time and, seeking to restore them to greatness, now gets the moniker of Grandpa Smurf.

As of 6th edition he is also a [[Love Can Bloom|xenos-loving]] bastard, having allowed the [[Tau]] to evacuate a planet that was facing [[Exterminatus]] due to a Tyranid infestation. To be fair, though, the Tau are one of two races (the other being [[Eldar]]) who work with the Imperials at points, so this could be just a bargaining chip to be used later. He also [[What|wielded a Necron Pylon]] (which are several stories tall) while the Ultramarines were retaking Damnos (before you ask, [[Phil Kelly]] wrote this, surprisingly).

As of the recent [[/co/|Marvel Comics]] series about him, it turns out that Marneus Calgar's past is a lot more murky than it first appears. First of all, he isn't actually the real Marneus Calgar. Before he became a Space Marine, he was actually a helot servant of the Calgar dynasty called Tacitan. After Calgar took him and his two friends along for pre-aspirant training, they were ditched on a moon that was secretly the wreck site of [[Horus Heresy|Heresy-era]] a [[Word Bearers|Word Bearer]]’s ship. The real Marneus Calgar was killed by their trainer, a disgruntled failed aspirant that became a Khornate servant of Chaos and corrupted Calgar’s two noble friends. With Calgar dead, Tacitan took his place and his name as he was the only who looked out for him. While cliché as all hell, it does at least give some understanding as to the source of his humility despite being one of the most powerful and influential space marines in history. Despite all his training and experience, [[Fail|he is unable to push the off button on an out of control combine harvester]]. Within the final issue, we can also see Calgar serving as a member of the [[Deathwatch]] during an event known as the ''Eucladus incursion'', and take out a [[Lord of Skulls]] (with supports).

==As of the Age of the Dark Imperium==
[[Image:Newcalgar.jpg|right|thumb|My exhausts are eagles, your argument is invalid.]]
His response to his Primarch getting back up and running things again has not been explored a great deal, although his first act was to transfer command to his Primarch in perpetuity, without any dispute or deliberation. So the guy who [[Games Workshop|GW]] has been plugging for decades as the guy that ''everyone else'' looks up to has now taken a back seat for someone better.

It was rather awkward when Guilliman reclaimed his personal quarters. Calgar had assumed everything within to be a "great relic" from the time of the great crusade, and would often take time to bask in their radiance. However, to Guilliman, these items were just mere tools (tools that, to his perspective, he had used mere days ago) and were of no more importance than the casing on a bolter shell. To Calgar it seemed like sacrilege that Guilliman would use what he thought were ancient relics haphazardly, while Guilliman couldn't understand why Calgar would venerate what is essentially his old trash.

Guilliman does note how competent Calgar is and decides to keep him around as an advisor. When the Terran Crusade begins he leaves Calgar in command of [[Ultramar]] in his original position of Chapter Master while he's gone (which due to Guilliman's early declarations of sovereignty is now close to its original ''500'' worlds, rather than just eight). So assuming Guilliman stays on [[Terra]] to assume control of the Imperium, Calgar has command over one of the largest territories and collective armed forces in the galaxy.

''Dark Imperium'' has suggested that he hasn't been taking it that well since the [[Indomitus Crusade]], even though he's been named head of the Ultramar Tetrarchs; he seems to be one of the first in the Chapter to realize Guilliman's not the infallible savior figure the Chapter has romanticized him as, and he took Guilliman's reorganization of Ultramar's government as a veiled criticism of his own governing skills. Further complicating things is Guilliman's currently unexplained choice to begin tutoring [[Cato Sicarius]] personally. This led Papa Smurf to assume he might be replaced in the future (it's actually because Cato reminds Bobby of another unruly Ultramarine from the Great Crusade era, Aeonid Thiel; and has nothing to do with Calgar's performance). It's only fairly recently that he's accepted that it was arrogant of him to think his actions had anything to do with his Primarch's recent choices, and while he's not taking it out on the people of the Imperium (which he had blamed at first) he's still feeling rather guilty about letting his old accomplishments give him a swollen ego. Intriguingly, this bears quite a few parallels to the case of [[Luther]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] as well as Horus feeling distrusted by the Emperor when he returned to Terra. With the key difference being Calgar's continued loyalty even in the face of his personal doubts. [[Grimdark|For now]].

He also has undergone the procedure that turns regular marines into [[Primaris Marines]], an agonizingly painful ordeal that left him briefly dead before his new Belisarian Furnace kicked in to bring him back. So we now have PriMarneus Calgar as an excuse to give him a new <strike>over</strike>detailed $20 model (it actually doesn't look much more detailed than the old one). It's probably only a matter of time before the other named Chapter Masters are subjected/treated to the same; hopefully their models are as badass as Calgar's. ([[Kayvaan Shrike|hrmm]]...) When the process has a much reduced failure rate all Space Marines should do this. It isn't like a little thing such as agony would be enough to deter them in the slightest and being briefly dead is more like an intriguing experience than something to fear. Hell, at least one Chapter outright has dying and willing yourself back to life as both a final test and a promotion requirement. Can you imagine a million Primaris Marines with no questionable loyalties and millennia of accrued experience? Fuck YES!

The major downsides are that they can't use [[Deathwing|Terminator Armor]], <strike>[[Blood Angels| their tanks]], [[Ravenwing|or]] [[White Scars|Bikes]]</strike> We've got Gladiator Tanks and Outriders, y'all! Not good for chapters that have them as a major part of their operational doctrines. It'll be another decade until Games Workshops give Primaris Marines their own equivalents. Plus, we have no evidence of a how squad of Primaris would fare on a Space Hulk mission, where non Terminator Marines are cooked alive in their own armor by radiation - and, worse, everyone on the venture needs to be able to fit through doorways, something Primaris marines are notoriously bad at. Though that can be alleviated by slicing through bulkheads. Because cutting through every door you come across is a solution. Yes.

Anyways, during the [[War of Beasts]] Marneus Calgar was in charge of the Imperial forces on [[Vigilus]]. While he was able to just barely hold onto the planet when the Black Legion began its invasion, countless hive spires had to be destroyed to stop Chaos from taking them and Calgar himself was nearly killed in a duel with [[Abaddon]] (although the Despoiler was forced to withdraw before finishing him off due to a Hail Mary gambit involving hitting the ''Vengeful Spirit'' with vortex missiles with the help of the Eldar). He lost some fingers and Abaddon managed to cut open his chest and damage both of his hearts.

Things didn't look up, though, as Abaddon then sent a bunch of [[Possessed]] to finish the job. Calgar briefly woke up to backhand a Greater Possessed and then shoot it, before collapsing again. The Apothecaries managed to stabilize him enough so that he didn't die from his wounds. So far, the damage is a bit grim, but he's still up and commanding the Ultramarines, even if he's not on the front lines.

==On the Tabletop==

{| class=wikitable
|-
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv || Special
|-
| '''Marneus Calgar (Artificer Armour):''' || 235 || 6 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 6 || 5 || 9 || 2+/4++ ||
|-
| '''Marneus Calgar (Armour of Antilochus):''' || 200 || 5 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 7 || 5 || 9 || 2+/4++ || Suffer Half Damage, Deep Strike
|-
| '''Marneus Calgar (Armour of Heraclus):''' || 200 || 6 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 5 || 8 || 6 || 9 || 2+/4++ || Suffer Half Damage
|}

It won't matter for most purposes, but remember that his Ld will go up to 10 when he gets his Chapter Tactics (there are attacks, such as some psychic powers, that will target his Ld, so it ''can'' come up). You have to notice that Calgar has three profiles, because he has three minis. Only one "Marneus Calgar" is allowed per army, though, so do not start imagining heretic cloning technology here.

Only 2 of these versions are realistically usable, however, since the one in Artificer Armour has not seen its point costs revised, and the other two versions give him the nifty ability to halve incoming damage from each attack rounding up.

In Terminator armor, he gets the ability to deep strike, and while he still suffers from the usual 5" Terminator models have, this may be the incentive to take this version - plus, he'll fit in waaaaay more transports. He also has an irrelevant Relic Blade, which you will never use, since it's always worse than or equal to his power fists that have no accuracy penalty. The only exception is incredibly exotic corner cases - right now the game only has one, when [[Phoenix_Lord#Jain_Zar|Jain Zar's]] Disarming Strike rolls high enough to shut down his fists.

His new Primaris Form, referred to as the Armour of Heraclus, is absurdly beefed up. With a new 8th wound, one more point of toughness, and a 6th attack, he can withstand even more punishment and deal a fair amount too, not that the Terminator version was shabby. Because the point costs are the same, the difference amounts to whether you prefer mobility or durability.

Apart from that, Calgar comes with the usual Chapter Master's ability: you can reroll all failed to hit rolls in a 6" bubble, which is a pretty nice ability to have.

Taking him in a Battle-Forged army, you automatically gain 2 Command Points, allowing two more re-rolls, one extra disruption of the combat phase, or anything else you'll fancy. As a Named Ultramarine Warlord, he has the Commander warlord trait, allowing him to recycle CP on a 5+; the two factors combined make sure you don't fall short on stratagems.

Gear-wise, he comes with the fabled Gauntlets of Ultramar, legendary relics taken by Guilliman off the corpse of a dead [[Chaos Space Marine]]. And Guilliman didn't ask for them back when he woke up, he's such a nice guy. They now count as a single weapon, and of course do not grant an additional attack since this rule disappeared in 8th (but now he has 5 base attacks, so...). Basically, they are [[Power_weapon#Power_Fist|power fist]]s, hitting at S8, AP-3 and D1d3 damage. While a fixed damage would have been nice, they still bring the pain, and few characters in the game will be able to survive a turn of combat with Calgar, especially with a 2+ re-rollable to hit, almost guaranteeing all 5/6 attacks will always connect (their relic ability is lacking an accuracy penalty).

They can also shoot with what is basically a master-crafted [[Storm Bolter]], gaining AP-1 and D2. Four shots in [[Deep Strike]] range and up to 12 inches, so nice to soften a target or thin down a horde a little bit.

For the two non-Primaris versions, he replaced his old [[Power_weapon#Power_Sword|power sword]] with a [[Power_weapon#Relic_Blade|relic blade]] for more pimp. While this might seem useless at first, since his fists have zero drawback, powers such as [[Phoenix_Lord#Jain_Zar|Jain Zar's]] Disarming Strike now rob him entirely of the Gauntlets' power, as they are no longer "a pair". So he can still wack her face with 5 re-rollable S6 AP-3 D1d3 attacks, which is almost as good. The Primaris version ditched it entirely.

In a nutshell, Calgar is like a budget Guilliman, solid in close combat, able to take pot shots with reasonable efficiency, and adds to your army. He is also the most expensive Chapter Master of all (barring those with special mounts), but he has a few more aces up his sleeve. Also, he only costs 50% of what Guilliman costs and doesn't eat up a Lord of War slot so he is a really good alternative to the latter.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Marneus calgar by gods and kings-d7d6mj1.png|It's just a flesh wound. He still deals with it better than a certain [[Abaddon|armless failure]].
Image:IMG 0492.jpg|And here is that old image in model form.
Image:OldCalgar.png|Calgar back in ye olden days. Note the [[Beakie]] helm and PET DESK DINOSAURS! AAAAGGGGHHHH!
Image:Wd97Calgar.jpg|Old Calgar started in the [[Techmarine|Armoury]], then got made to the [[Chapter Serf|Master of the Household]] before taking the top spot and [[Lazy Marines|he hasn't done any more fighting since.]] Well well...
Image:Marneuscomic.jpg|Motherfucker got his own comic.
Image:ICASTFIST.png|[[Muscle Wizard|I CAST FIST]]!!!
Image:Papa smurf rip khorne engine.jpg| Papa smurf rips a Lord of Skulls a new asshole then shoving a few round of bolter down to it.
File:WH40K_-_open-3.jpg|Is there ANYTHING that Marneus can't do?
Image:WH40K_-_z1iubpmuemx71.jpg|Of course not. As shown with this Mandatory Macragge Moptop, he's a great man whose talent is somewhat wasted on the battlefield.
</gallery>

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Marines Chapter Masters]]

Ortan Cassius

2023-05-26T12:43:56Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:3546:6431:64C8:8AAE:

[[File:Cassius_vs._Tyranids.jpg|600px|right|thumb|The only awesome guy in a Chapter of [[Mary Sue]]s (besides the good Captains [[Captain Titus|Titus]] and [[Uriel Ventris|Ventris]]).]]
{{Topquote|He knows a lot about killing aliens, which is no bad thing.|[[Asmodai]] giving a rare compliment to his counterpart in the [[Ultramarines]].}}

'''Ortan Cassius''' is an absolute badass.

He is also, coincidentally, an [[Ultramarines|Ultramarine]]. Luckily, Cassius is ''so'' badass that he is immune to [[Matt Ward]]'s vile influences. However, he cries [[Fist of the North Star|manly tears]] that the rest of his Chapter has devolved to such stupidity at the hands of Ward.

In all seriousness, though, Cassius is the Master of Sanctity and head [[Chaplain]] of the Ultramarines Chapter. He also happens to be their oldest active member. He made his name during the [[Hive Fleet Behemoth|First Tyrannic War]], in which he attempted to save the northern polar fortress and led efforts to reclaim it after the loss of the First Company. This did not go well, and Cassius was (nearly) crushed to death by a rampaging [[Carnifex]]. However, he was such a badass that he somehow clung to life while the Apothecaries rebuilt him, Six Million Dollar Man/Deus Ex: Human Revolution style (I guess there weren't any extra dreadnoughts to put him into at the time). His replacement parts make up most of his body, so now he's pretty much immune to bleeding to death and shock. When he woke up, he had a new goal in life: exterminate the Tyranids, which he had come to believe were the Ultramarines' punishment for being such zeros. To accomplish his goal, he gathered the [[Tyrannic War Veterans]], the only other badass thing the Ultramarines have ever produced.

According to Deathwatch: Overkill, Cassius was such a hardcore nid-killer that he was inducted into the [[Deathwatch]]. His burning hatred for xenos was already so great that he barely broke a sweat during the inductee's hypno-indoctrination when other Deathwatch Marines usually have to be restrained from destroying the vid-gear. To be fair, the vids probably don't even compare to having lived through one of the worst xenos invasions of the century, knee-deep in the corpses of your brothers on your own homeworld. Cassius leads his own kill-team fighting a [[genestealer]] [[Genestealer Cult|cult]] on a distant mining colony.

==Why is Cassius So Badass?==
You may have noted a disturbing trend in Ultramarines special characters. [[Marneus Calgar]] is the BEST CHAPTER MASTER EVAR, [[Varro Tigurius]] is the BEST LIBRARIAN EVAR, [[Torias Telion]] is the BEST SCOUT SERGEANT EVAR, [[Antaro Chronus]] is the BEST TANK PILOT EVAR, and [[Cato Sicarius]] is the BEST SECOND COMPANY CAPTAIN EVAR (okay, maybe not so much on that one, but he certainly seems to think so)(Try to actually read some novels where Sicarius is, not the meme, it is really a good written character, better than the above). In other words, they're all a bunch of fucking [[Mary Sue]]s. They have essentially no character traits besides being THE BEST EVAR. There's nothing setting them apart from other Space Marines besides the fact they're just ''better''. They're so absolutely perfect that even [[Fulgrim]] himself weeps bitter tears that he can never be as perfect as the Ultramarines special characters.

Cassius, on the other hand, is not the BEST CHAPLAIN EVAR; he's not even necessarily a good Chaplain. But he has an interesting backstory that ties into the Ultramarines' fluff as a whole, he epitomizes the dogged determination that characterized the Ultramarines pre-Ward, he doesn't have plot armour, and he makes both his faction and the faction he fights look good. For instance, he doesn't impale a Carnifex on its own scything talons; he gets torn to shit by it and just barely survives, spurring him to dedicate the rest of his life to destroying every last one of the bugs. This makes Tyranids look like a credible threat for the Ultramarines, unlike the poor Daemons, which just look impotent next to the Grey Knights.

In other words, he's everything Matt Ward's characters usually aren't. Whether this is because his background was already set in stone by the time Ward got his hands on it, or it's a fluke of nature, the world may never know... but at least the world can breathe easy, knowing there is a least one Ultramarine that isn't a complete and utter prissy bitch.

He also patronizes Calgar (solely referring to him as "young Calgar"), which is worth the price of admission alone. Furthermore, whenever the Ultramarines fight the Tyranids, Cassius recruits MORE Ultramarines to his Tyrannic War Veterans group (although by now they're not all from the Tyrannic War), which is slowly but surely growing in size and influence. Old man Calgar has thought at various times about putting his Power Armoured boot down and stopping it, since it strays away from dad's Codex rules, but he reckons that sooner or later, another war on par with the Tyrannic War will come, at which point Cassius' faction will be invaluable. (Oh me oh my, looks like it's time for round 4 regarding the tyrannic wars)

==On the Tabletop==
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Ortan Cassius:''' || 130 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 6 || 2 || 4 || 2 || 10 || 3+/4++
|-
| '''Young Cassius:''' || 95 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 4 || 2 || 4 || 2 || 10 || 3+/4++
|}

Ortan Cassius is a cheap, tougher-than-average chaplain with a couple of fun bits. He's also apparently part Tech Marine. In addition to the ultramarine's usual ATSKNF and Chapter Tactics, he has Independent Character, Prefered Enemy ([[tyranids]]), FNP, and Zealot, and he gets toughness 6 by being about 80% machine, (he got ripped up by a [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|carnifex]]). His warlord trait, Angel of Death, gives him Fear and makes the enemy roll that fear test on 3d6. He has a typical chaplain's loadout of a Crozius Arcanum, a bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades, a rosarius, and a [[wat|"master crafted relic" combi-flamer he supposedly built himself.]] Nevermind why a chaplain is building his own gear, the combi-flamer "Infernus" is a typical flamer strapped to the bottom of a master crafted bolter with hellfire rounds (2+ poisoned).

On the tabletop you're spending 40 points above a vanilla chaplain. What are you getting for this? +2 toughness, FNP, and a master crafted combi-flamer. This is a steal. Just for the extra toughness alone, he's worth that. Even with only 2 wounds the high toughness and FNP will keep him alive though more than terminator armor would, with none of the drawbacks associated with the bulkier armor. If you just want to throw an extra officer into your army or you want a cheap character for a low point game, he might be a good pick.

However, if you feel slightly more inclined to bring outside assistance, you can instead bring a younger, cheaper version of Cassius brought in from [[Deathwatch: Overkill]], which represented a time where he served in the [[Deathwatch]] and killed a cult of [[Genestealer]]s. While more in line with a standard chaplain, he gets more goodies for a rather minimal tradeoff. He gets no bolter, but he can still use Sternguard Ammo. However, until there are more rules for a Deathwatch army coming out, young Cassius is forced to bring in his tactical squad at the LEAST, which is a mishmash of forces.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Deathwatch]]