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