Space Marine Lovin'

Lately I have not been in much of a 40k mood, I have been struggling to think of anything to post up here and to even finish the bikers that I waited so long to get. So instead of pushing out content half heartedly I waited until I actually had a topic that had a bit of spark to it, something that I really cared about. In all honesty if I don't care about a topic I am not going to post about it. Going back to my 40k roots in this post, I am going to talk about why space marines are the best faction out there. I'm going to try really hard not to make this a space marine fan boy post because it is the faults the marines have that make them attractive to me far more than their perfect image.

The lore of the 40k universe means a lot to me and while I may not play the fluffiest lists it most certainly has an impact. If you have been following this blog for a while (you should subscribe in that case) then you might have noticed that the majority of the book reviews I have done are from Black Librarie's Space Marine Battle series. The authors do a great job of delving into the character of each chapter. For most people that don't have anything to do with marines the only thing they really notice is a different color; blue ones, red ones, black ones, green ones, yellow ones, and on it goes. Just like with most things in life outward appearance only means so much.

 

 

What makes space marines more then just battle field demi-gods is ultimately their human aspects. Blood Angels are one of the noblest chapters out there and personify all that is good in the spirit of man but they bear one of the heaviest curses that can turn these sons of an angel into nothing more than a creature that craves blood. The constant internal fight that these warriors go through is only one thing that makes them special. Even the vaunted Ultramarines are not perfect. While they do not have a curse or geneseed defect they have something that is possibly the worst and most continuous plague that Nurgle himself can't take credit for; political strife. There is a clear line of succession that when the current chapter master dies the first company captain takes his place yet in every novel and codex there is mention of the second company captain rocking the boat and making a claim to be the successor. No matter how awesome a chapter might be, there is always the thought that they can turn heretic. A perfect example is the Soul Drinkers, a chapter dedicated to the eradication of the Emperor's enemies but they had one very bad day that sent them over the top.

 

 

In all reality something could have the most amazing background that is jaw droppingly written but if it doesn't translate to the table top then who cares. I am happy to report that the prowess of a space marine is alive and well on the table top. I am not a fan of gun line armies like Tau to begin with and Space Marine shooting armies have a special place of disgust in my heart because they are supposed to be the tip of the spear, engaging in close combat to utterly destroy the foe. More often than not this sort of mentality has dictated my list building. A perfect example being instead of taking a bike squad with grav guns and plasma I took a command squad on bikes with a company champion because the roar of a chainsword is far more awesome then the pew pew of any gun.

 

 

In an age where heroes are needed more then ever Space Marines answer the call. Each and every battle brother ready to lay his life down for the glory of man kind and the immortal Emperor. Thanks for reading, hopefully you enjoyed it. I am off to go paint more of one of my bikes, I also have an idea for my next post; Blood Angel Allies for those of you looking for a close combat punch.